The fast fashion era has seen us under-utilising many clothing pieces from our wardrobe. With the high price we pay for quality clothing, the high price tags can potentially deter us from making the purchase. Is it then feasible to rent clothes, for a fraction of the original retail price?
Rental models allow for customers to borrow fashion items for a specific period of time, at the cost of about 20% of the item's original price. Rent the Runway is a website where customers can rent exquisite clothing items meant for special occasions such as wedding events or a party. Launched in 2009, the website draws 5.5 million active members that features many designer brands. Having a system where customers rent a specific piece of clothing, rental companies are able to lower their cost of items. This rental model system creates value for clothing items that get only a limited amount of use. It would not be profitable to have a fashion rental model that features casual clothing - although these clothing are lower in cost in comparison to evening gowns, the high usage rate can significantly reduce the durability of clothing.
Having a rental model means that there would be a huge amount of inventory, thus increasing the warehouse costs to hold these items. Other costs incurred would also be shipping costs and maintenance cost (to dry clean and fix any tears or defects in the outfits). In order to fully maximise the stock's availability to the public, products returned to the company in the morning are dry cleaned and ready to be shipped out to a new customer by the evening. Rent the Runway is also the biggest dry cleaner in the U.S., typically dry cleaning up to 2000 dresses every hour. One might think that rented companies only carry common sizes in order to maximise their profits (since they may incur losses if they purchase expensive pieces that majority of members do not fit in). However, Rent the Runway has a huge range of sizes available, from size 0 to size 22, making sure that nobody gets left out on the deals. Furthermore, the company sends users two sizes in case the one they placed an order for does not fit.
This system however, may not fully work in peer-to-peer platforms. Renting out clothes from our own wardrobe becomes difficult if we have no established a proper reputable background for people to trust. Although we may price the same items on professionally done websites at a cheaper price, people may still be hesitant towards transacting with peers. Furthermore, when it comes to expensive clothing items that require professional dry cleaning, individuals may not get as good a deal when compared to other rental companies. This means that profits earned from renting the dress out may not even be enough to cover the cost of sending the item to dry cleaning.
Renting in the shared economy is still a relatively new concept, and people are still reluctant to share clothes with other people, especially on peer-to-peer platforms. It is more difficult convincing someone to share their clothing pieces with someone else than convincing them to share a home, or a car. Personally, the thrill in buying or trying a piece of clothing is the fact that it is something new. People may also view their clothing as something very personal and private to themselves, thus having to wear something that a stranger has put on their body before may feel slightly uncomfortable to them.
References:
https://www.renttherunway.com/
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/fashion-tech/will-the-sharing-economy-work-for-fashion-rent-the-runway-rental
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