Ian
Rental businesses are the in thing these days. Toys, high end fashion brands, tuxedos, DVD’s, sports goods, paintings, home decor, Christmas decor and books. Name it and there is a rental business with that. It makes sense for the end consumer to not invest in a retail purchase when he doesn’t see long term use for the product. And if there is significant demand for the product, it makes sense for the rental business model to invest in this. Rental businesses like these are a lot like Netflix in the digital market.
A lot of high end fashion brands are not affordable from the perspective of most people who crave for them. Nevertheless, people do want to be spotted with swanky labels. That gives rise to bag/dress rental businesses like Rent The Runway or Bag Borrow or Steal. These businesses thrive on proper shipping strategies. Without a definite shipping strategy, they would amount to nada.
Legal Issues
Certain products are not legal to be rented through a third party. So, a lot of research has to be carried out by the rental organization in order to let the product be part of its inventory. Some brands would allow the rental business to rent their product in the hopes of promoting their goods while others would not, fearing a dip in sales.
Inventory control
Inventory management is very important. If it’s weekend, there is bound to be a demand for rental products because people have time to party, play and read. Read more on inventory issues here.
Quality
The first person to rent a product obviously has an edge over his/her successors. He/she gets a brand new product while others get a used product. Utmost care and consideration is to be expended on maintaining rental products. Whatever the product is, cleanliness is a huge issue. Toys, bags, clothes etc need to be cleaned and sterilized, if need be. Periodic quality checks are mandatory in rental businesses. No one wants a luxury bag that is well worn.
Photographs
Stunning photographs are a necessity when it comes to rental businesses. This is especially helpful with toys, fashion labels and such. The catalogue looks inviting if it has stunning photographs from various angles and also has reviews of people who have rented it earlier. This gives the renter a good idea about what he/she is getting.
Shipping
So, a customer wants a book for a weekend? It’s of no use if your carrier delivers it to him on Monday. While it is impossible to run a business without such glitches, it means a lot to the customer and eventually to your business if you can apologize and make amends.
Read more on rental businesses here.
Image source: Gaebler.
