Will Fashion Rentals Burgeon In The Future?
The rental clothing service holds the capacity to solve a lot of problems faced by mid-market retailers — including millennial “wardrobing.” In the time where fashion trends transform in seconds and people highly live their lives on social media, consumers have a “one and done” approach to outfits. The camera has created a tendency where consumers want to adorn a look single time and then move on to the next. The fashion brands and mid-range retailers are today helping the shoppers look good in selfies and on social media.
Now with the outbreak of COVID-19, the world is worried, and considering it to be an avenge of Mother Nature, overconsumption and the disposal of unwanted clothing has become a worrying global problem, in numerous cases, clothes are unnecessarily thrown away when it could be repaired or recycled. But post-COVID leasing in fashion will be considered as an innovative business model, read on further to know-how.
About Rental Fashion
Rental Fashion
Over the last few years, fashion rental modal has popped up to tempt every conceivable type of consumer globally. With years clothes that sit in the back of the closet were unsuccessful in adding value to our lives. They in-fact contributed to excessive amounts of waste pollution. It’s speculated that American consumers alone generate nearly 254 million tons of waste per year, and basically, much of this waste is due to the fashion industry. All these factors transformed the shopping philosophy, consumers looked forward to investing in long-term staples, ethically-made pieces, and clothing they could wear for years. All of these factors led to the birth of renting culture in the fashion industry, consumers started by renting instead of buying, and by lending instead of discarding. Fashion rental got on the rise and not just for event wear, the environmentally conscious and cash savvy consumers increasingly opted to rent rather than buy when they wanted a new outfit but the question arises when did this culture exactly rise in the country?
1990's- The Beginning Of Rental Fashion In India!
Rental Fashion
We’re the ‘Generation Rent’, the renting figures trebled since the 1990s, as long gone were the days of owning CD’s and DVD’s, people preferred ‘renting’ entertainment. The same concept was coveted for the wardrobes since the 1990s. With the environmental crisis, the demand for ethical clothing increased exponentially, with 66% more searches for ‘sustainable fashion’ occurring since 2018.
The multibillion-dollar, Indian fashion industry, holds major Indian and western-wear players dominating the market. In the past, as the consumers became more price and environment conscious, most people preferred to not have exorbitantly expensive outfits and moved towards picking more easy-to-wear pieces that they could wear multiple times. Renting culture became a hit in the Indian market as expensive clothes and accessories were no longer fantasies beyond the reach of the millennials as more and more players successfully set up shops in the online clothes and accessories rental space.
The Pioneers In Fashion Rentals
Pioneers In Fashion Rentals
It is speculated that in India, by 2025, many areas of the sharing economy will rival the size of their traditional counterparts. Apart from categories like real estate, furniture, automobiles, etc., the clothing and accessories segment is taking up the rental market by storm, and it’s perfect for people who cannot afford luxury brands but do appreciate the intricacies and quality. According to speculated data, online clothing rental market size is to reach USD 1,856 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 10.6% from 2017–2023. And this is expected to grow at a much faster rate in India. The rental fashion market in the country, pegged at USD 3–4 billion and has been expanding continuously with several existing key players as well as start-ups like Flyrobe, Rent it Bae, Stage3, The Clothing Rental, LibeRent, among others, which are also attracting seed funds.
How Is Rental Fashion Catering To The Millennials Innovatively?
How Is Rental Fashion Catering To The Millennials Innovatively?
In the past few years renting clothes and accessories have become more and more popular. It’s hard to believe but especially millennials are big supporters of this trend, they are 3 times more likely to use a rental service for clothes than non-millennials. There are numerous reasons for this behavior-
- The financial crisis makes it impossible for people to afford to buy designer clothes. This is exactly how the clothing rental trend began in the country. Instead of buying millennials preferred renting, they considered renting and secondhand buying as sustainable and economically beneficial.
- This practice led to a constant trading happening, as buying used clothes made it easier to resell them instead of throwing them out when they were not liked anymore.
- The millennial embraces renting rather than owning and some traditional major retailers took notice.
- Fashion brands provided online rental subscription services for clothing and accessories, which meant consumers could now get dressed using a virtual, rotating closet through several start-ups.
- Fashion brands also rented clothing for everyday wear, they even send users items based on personal style.
- Some fashion brand start-ups charge a monthly fee and allow users to wear the clothing for a month, or sometimes an unlimited amount of time. The costumers return the clothing without paying shipping or dry-cleaning costs.
- The rental fashion brands provide the millennials to have access to thousands of products, more than they would usually be able to afford, at a fixed monthly rate. It gives them more value and more choice at a lower price.
How Consumer’s Psychology Transformed Towards Rental In Fashion?
Renting Wedding Outfits
With time the stigma of ‘old’ or ‘used’ was replaced by ‘vintage’ or ‘authentic.’ The benefits of renting became more clear for clothes, consumers only wear once, like wedding attire, or only for a short term, like maternity clothing or adventure gear. Rental became acceptable as consumers made more fashion-forward choices, knowing that they only need to wear the item a couple of times, and can then return it.
Innovation and environmental consciousness also played a major role in transforming people’s psychology towards rental in fashion, fashion brands initiated launching resale or rental models. The market grew for the rentals as many early adopters saw very clearly the commercial opportunities that resale and rental could offer them.
How Did Social Media Impact The Fashion Rental Industry?
Social Media
The advent of e-commerce and social media has opened doors to different ways of doing business and for consumers to accept and try these innovative models. After the emergence of formats like mobile commerce, hyperlocal apps, dark stores, etc. the online retail vertical has now moved towards the moto of renting. As consumers were not anymore avoiding secondary shopping options such as renting or buying second-hand products. Millennial consumers became more open to such options as it saves not just money, but also time. They considered renting a smarter and economical shopping alternate and a sartorial reflection of a busy social calendar.
Source: https://www.iknockfashion.com/will-fashion-rentals-burgeon-in-the-future/
