Growing apparel rental market in India

 16 February 2023, Mumbai

According to Allied Market Research, the global online clothing rental market is predicted to reach US $ 1,856 million by 2023, rising at a CAGR of 10.6% from 2017 to 2023.

The millennial generation has done an excellent job of communicating that ownership is significantly overvalued.

Value unlocking; The Indian apparel rental market is on a path of growth providing end-consumers with affordable, sustainable, and catchy/trendy fashion choices & value offerings. It also enormously benefits the environment by lessening/reducing textile waste which is a big plus.

Playing the devil's advocate

In the times of shared and pooled, economic themes such as shared office, shared mobility, and so forth Post-Covid era there is a sanguine emerging trend towards the direction of renting clothing rather than permanent ownership of a range of designer product lines, fashion accessories & categories.
The paper is a serious thesis on an unleashed evolving, revolution sweeping across retail business models that
concomitantly serves rental and sales markets.
As there is an emerging megatrend of many a retailer predominantly concentrates on renting leading to a heightened incidental sales demand thereby.

Share a theme

According to a study, several sectors of the sharing economy are expected to be as big as their conventional equivalents by 2025, making it the newest craze internationally and in India. This has developed so that younger customers now automatically choose the sharing model.

While this strategy has worked well for industries like real estate, furniture, cars, etc., the apparel and accessory segment is currently dominating the market. It makes perfect sense for those who cannot afford premium labels but admires their intricate designs and high quality.

Apparel rental market landscape

And it is expected that India will see a considerably greater growth rate. In India, the apparel rental market is on a growth path showing a growth trajectory with an estimation of a compound annual growth (CAGR) rate of 10.6% between the forecasted period between 2021 and 2026, driven by heightened consumer interest in a sustainable fashion.

The estimated US $ 3–4 billion Indian online fashion rental business has been steadily growing with various established companies and start-ups, including Flyrobe, Rent It Bae, Stage3, The Clothing Rental, and LibeRent others, which are successfully garnering initial investmentApparel rental product categories are rapidly gaining popularity.

The most popular categories span from designer dresses, formal wear, activewear, and high-end accessories like handbags and the other end of the spectrum like jewelry, etc.

A Sustainable Mind

Fast fashion is not sustainable, and to make matters worse, today's millennials' purchasing habits have completely altered such that they need to buy a new outfit for every occasion.

And as a result of their constant search for more affordable alternatives to direct purchase, developing Asian-Pacific countries have seen an increase in the rental sector.

Growth enablers

Around the world, fashion rental websites have popped up, including Girl Meets Dress in the UK, Rent The Runway in the US, and Flyrobe in India. This has caused the segment's growth to accelerate at a never anticipated rate.

The Doubting Mind | Although few people believe that the sharing economy would stop hype consumption, there is still the argument that the market has not yet expanded sufficiently to displace ownership.

Incipient signs

"The Indian rental market is still in its infancy. It will take some time for the fashion rental business to flourish organically because consumers are only recently becoming aware of it and are highly perplexed by the notion. I don't see the end of hyper-consumption anytime soon, and there will be the coexistence of fast fashion and rental industry in the times to come, affirms Shilpa Bhatia, Founder of The Clothing Rental.

We are quickly moving into an age where attention span is often limited, and the audience craves freshness, newness, and quick ease. Despite a massive increase in start-ups, the industry is still in its infancy.

Global scenario

Stepping back, North America, which accounted for 40% of the global market in 2017, is the market leader in the sector, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific, which is predicted to grow at the highest CAGR of 11.64% over the forecast period. Bollywood significantly impacts the Indian fashion rental market, further driven by the wedding sector because dressing up for special events is a status symbol for ambitious India.

Social media influencers

Great aspiration to have; Millennials' apparel/clothing and fashion needs have changed from need-based to aspiration-based. Consumers today are either genuine social media users or die-hard Bollywood fans.

Their sartorial choices are more influenced than ever by the nation's top designers and celebrities' closets. Several elements influence this section. The increasing use of social media has made wardrobes more vulnerable than ever, and there is a growing interest in sustainability by using existing resources rather than producing new clothing.

Millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z) value experiences over possessions and believe ownership is about access rather than possession itself. Additionally, according to Sabena Puri, CEO & Co-Founder of Stage3, "the fashion rental websites assist designers with an exponential expansion in market size, providing access to a younger customer base as well as visibility in Tier-2 and Tier-3 locations."

Fast forward

At Rent It Bae, the spokesperson enumerated,” We provide a wide selection of clothing and accessories from well-known brands, including high-street and premium labels.

An in-house brand was chosen by our stylists and offered distinctive designs that are rarely seen in the market. Our target audience comprises people between the ages of 20 and 45 who earn at least Rs. 2 lakhs per year”.

The fashion rental companies offer products in both ethnic and western categories for men and women, ranging from tuxedos, sherwanis, kurtas, shirts to shoes and accessories for men, and lehengas, sarees, gowns, dresses, workwear, footwear, clutches, and jewelry for women.

These products are sourced from aspirational brands, upcoming and established designers, and high-end stores. These excellent collections may be hired in as little as three hours for a minimum of three to four days, and the rental fee ranges from 10-15% of the item's original price.

Canny business Or ethical idiocy
The article makes a case that there is a viable market for the apparel/fashion rental businesses albeit, given the incipient signs it is still an underdeveloped market and in the structural sense it clearly means diverting fashion-conscious/forward consumers veering from the stereotypes of ownership behaviours aligning the deeper aims societies aiming to attain circular economy fashion discipline; galvanizing the idea of sharing collective resources, a noble spirit of social aspects of access, the tenet of shared-values and meaningful win-win approach within the system fostering/stoking in the limited sense alternative consumption practice regime.

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