Bags, toys, maternity clothes and even dogs are now being offered
By Gwendolyn Ng 15 February 2009
Hard times are providing a boost to rental businesses offering hard-pressed consumers a cheaper alternative to outright ownership.
From maternity wear to bags, toys, cameras and even pets, rental firms are mushrooming and reporting a rise in inquiries and sales as many reconsider their need to buy.
Online bag rental service thatbagiwant.com saw its daily membership sign-up rate triple, from about 10 to 30 per day, as soon as the Government announced that Singapore was in a technical recession in October last year. Its customer base has since doubled from 2,000 to 4,000 over the past three months.
Proprietor Tan Ho Ching, 38, said: ‘We’re now seeing a lot more customers who were previously hesitant about renting coming forward to register. They’ll use the service to tide them over the difficult period, before buying a branded bag when times are better.’
On his site, renting a Louis Vuitton Monogram Galliera bag for a week costs $75. To buy it off the shelf costs $1,930.
Meanwhile, maternity wear rental shop Maternity Exchange estimates it has seen a 25 per cent spike in rental customers, from 60 to 75 customers a month, since the onset of the downturn.
The store has even introduced a Recessionista Package, offering four pieces of branded maternity clothes for $129 for a loan period of four weeks. Since then, it has seen a further surge of 30 per cent in the number of new rental sign-ups, from 30 to 40 a month.
Retail expert Lynda Wee, a PhD holder in retail marketing, said the boom in rental businesses is expected. ‘When things are uncertain, people prefer not to commit to long-term or big-ticket purchases.’
Indeed, most rental customers say it all boils down to costs. Polytechnic student and freelance photographer Low Yi Ci, 18, rents cameras and lenses from Camera Rental Centre for commercial shoots as he cannot afford to buy them.
He rents once a month, usually for clients’ photo shoots. For example, renting a $3,000 Nikon camera and a Nikon specialised lens that costs $6,000 in stores sets him back $170 for a day’s use.
Junior college teacher Shereen Ng, 32, who just gave birth to twins, said she rented clothes from Maternity Exchange to stay fashionable on a budget while expecting.
‘Economically, it made sense since my belly was growing exponentially each month. It would cost a fortune to keep buying new pieces every other month,’ she said. Maternity wear can cost up to $200 a piece.
Wastage is now frowned upon too. Madam Pauline Yong, 33, an administrative support worker, has stopped frequenting stores like Toys ‘R’ Us and now rents baby walkers and other toys from online store Rent That Toy! for her 16-month-old son.
‘Children outgrow and lose interest in their toys fast. Some toys can easily cost $300 and cannot be used after two to three months.’ Rental costs range from $7 to $70 per item.
Alongside cost, other reasons for rental are emerging. For one thing, it affords the opportunity to try out something before making a bigger commitment.
Japanese freelance writer Yuko Hinckley, 41, wanted to get a pet dog but was not sure whether she was up to the responsibility. After moving here with her British teacher husband six months ago, she rented a golden retriever named Major from dog rental service Easy Dogz for $260, inclusive of a $100 membership fee, over four days.
Retail experts note the recession, coupled with all these reasons, have changed many Singaporeans’ traditional rejection of used or pre-loved goods.
They say the Asian preference for new and branded may be softening and making way for used items, which are widely accepted in the West. Dr Wee thinks the upswing in rental business is here to stay.
‘People...can see that the quality of the goods is high and that rental services are professional. They have come a long way and rentals are no longer seen as being for the financially challenged.’
1 comment:
Why buy when you can rent?
Bags, toys, maternity clothes and even dogs are now being offered
By Gwendolyn Ng
15 February 2009
Hard times are providing a boost to rental businesses offering hard-pressed consumers a cheaper alternative to outright ownership.
From maternity wear to bags, toys, cameras and even pets, rental firms are mushrooming and reporting a rise in inquiries and sales as many reconsider their need to buy.
Online bag rental service thatbagiwant.com saw its daily membership sign-up rate triple, from about 10 to 30 per day, as soon as the Government announced that Singapore was in a technical recession in October last year. Its customer base has since doubled from 2,000 to 4,000 over the past three months.
Proprietor Tan Ho Ching, 38, said: ‘We’re now seeing a lot more customers who were previously hesitant about renting coming forward to register. They’ll use the service to tide them over the difficult period, before buying a branded bag when times are better.’
On his site, renting a Louis Vuitton Monogram Galliera bag for a week costs $75. To buy it off the shelf costs $1,930.
Meanwhile, maternity wear rental shop Maternity Exchange estimates it has seen a 25 per cent spike in rental customers, from 60 to 75 customers a month, since the onset of the downturn.
The store has even introduced a Recessionista Package, offering four pieces of branded maternity clothes for $129 for a loan period of four weeks. Since then, it has seen a further surge of 30 per cent in the number of new rental sign-ups, from 30 to 40 a month.
Retail expert Lynda Wee, a PhD holder in retail marketing, said the boom in rental businesses is expected. ‘When things are uncertain, people prefer not to commit to long-term or big-ticket purchases.’
Indeed, most rental customers say it all boils down to costs. Polytechnic student and freelance photographer Low Yi Ci, 18, rents cameras and lenses from Camera Rental Centre for commercial shoots as he cannot afford to buy them.
He rents once a month, usually for clients’ photo shoots. For example, renting a $3,000 Nikon camera and a Nikon specialised lens that costs $6,000 in stores sets him back $170 for a day’s use.
Junior college teacher Shereen Ng, 32, who just gave birth to twins, said she rented clothes from Maternity Exchange to stay fashionable on a budget while expecting.
‘Economically, it made sense since my belly was growing exponentially each month. It would cost a fortune to keep buying new pieces every other month,’ she said. Maternity wear can cost up to $200 a piece.
Wastage is now frowned upon too. Madam Pauline Yong, 33, an administrative support worker, has stopped frequenting stores like Toys ‘R’ Us and now rents baby walkers and other toys from online store Rent That Toy! for her 16-month-old son.
‘Children outgrow and lose interest in their toys fast. Some toys can easily cost $300 and cannot be used after two to three months.’ Rental costs range from $7 to $70 per item.
Alongside cost, other reasons for rental are emerging. For one thing, it affords the opportunity to try out something before making a bigger commitment.
Japanese freelance writer Yuko Hinckley, 41, wanted to get a pet dog but was not sure whether she was up to the responsibility. After moving here with her British teacher husband six months ago, she rented a golden retriever named Major from dog rental service Easy Dogz for $260, inclusive of a $100 membership fee, over four days.
Retail experts note the recession, coupled with all these reasons, have changed many Singaporeans’ traditional rejection of used or pre-loved goods.
They say the Asian preference for new and branded may be softening and making way for used items, which are widely accepted in the West. Dr Wee thinks the upswing in rental business is here to stay.
‘People...can see that the quality of the goods is high and that rental services are professional. They have come a long way and rentals are no longer seen as being for the financially challenged.’
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