Rental marketplace Hirestreet has unveiled a new way for customers to rent fashion items as part of its new strategy and website launch, as well as unveiling a new rewards scheme, Retail Week can reveal.
Hirestreet shoppers will now have the option to rent in one of two ways – rent two items for 30 days at a price of £30 or get a five item bundle for a 30-day period for £65 – in the platform’s “first steps towards a subscription style” business model.
The new strategy marks a “turning point” in the UK rental market and comes as Hirestreet saw a shift in consumer demand last year, with customers opting to rent for more casual use as well as the traditional focus on occasionwear.
The top 15% of Hirestreet consumers are now renting an average of 30 products per year and the platform also noted a surge in the number of items per order, up from 1.4 items per order in 2022 to 2.7 items in 2023.
As the brand shifts its focus from the previous strategy of renting for one-off occasions to bundle rental purchases for everyday life, Hirestreet’s website now incorporates a personalised style quiz and curated wardrobe advice to make the shopping experience more bespoke.
Its new ‘Hire Life’ rewards scheme allows customers to earn points every time they rent, with every 50 points totalling £5 to redeem on a future rental.
Consumers are automatically signed up to Hirestreet’s membership scheme when creating an account and receive a discount on rental products for their birthday.
Hirestreet chief executive Isabella West said: “Browsing behaviour and checkout behaviour have changed; customers are now looking to hire outfits for more of life’s moments and the result is more items in their basket and often a higher frequency of rental. We needed to adjust our proposition to meet that demand.”
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