Will you still buy clothes on rent post covid’19 lockdown?

In a society where we celebrate each festival or any significant event to the fullest, market for clothes on rent or second hand rental had been the growing trendsetter that been holding the reins of many businesses until the pandemic in 2020.

Will the Covid’19 lockdown change the outlook of consumer’s buying pattern, approach towards rental shops and affect the future dynamics of the rental items ?

In the past, many of us  wore hand me-down clothes and later the organic shift of buying clothes on rent became the norm. Having taken clothes on hire atleast once, we all felt extravagant to wear different outfits spending less than the retail costs to a party. After all, wearing the same outfit to many social events feels awkward right?But now what ?

is our love for shopping altered!

Designer Clothes:

Weddings are the most expensive events in most places and families spent a huge amount to make it memorable. Brides who desire to wear designer outfits usually throng to retail shops to find a exact copy made by their favourite designers.

The designer lehengas, sherwanis, suits and reception gowns are the top rental outfits in India not only hired by the wedding couple but also the extended families and guests who want to look stylish and trendy and yet is budget friendly.

Many brands like The Stylease, the Flyrobe, Rent An Attire have created a niche to provide designer clothes at competitive lower prices and cater to these segment. With many weddings put on hold, will the rental business still thrive as usual again ?

Festivals and Holiday season:

In the world of social media, where we aim to look cool and glamourous at every holiday,every social gathering, posting selfies and getting more followers and likes has been the new normal for our generation.

The summers where we usually planned our holidays, went for trips  saw us confine to our homes admist this lockdown. Now as going on a holiday feels like a distant dream, will those amazing stores who sell clothes on hire be able to recover their costs?

Hopefully, you wouldn’t want to pay a bomb for your next 9 days of Navratri outfits or on a casual gown to go to a nearby beach

Cultural functions/ Competitions at school, colleges and offices

Do you remember taking part in school cultural events and a bunch of you wearing similar colourful outfits posing for group photo after the event? Small entrepreneurs were the source for those clothes on hire who rent out items for a specific period at a nominal fee.

Prom parties, Graduation day and even office get-together and awards functions always saw a spike in buyers going for rental clothes like Sarees, Gowns, worn for a day or few hours.

As schools and colleges are shutdown, the most frequent rentals for fancy dress, cultural functions have stopped completely.

What is the possible future for retailers who sell clothes on hire and its buyers?

Maintenance of  Proper Hygiene and Care

Post pandemic, the supreme emphasis has been maintaining proper hygiene and the protocols will have to be taken to follow the guidelines of the authorities. Proper disinfection of clothes will need to be the prime focus for retailers who source the garments before renting out from one buyer to the next.

Reaffirming Faith on Second Hand Clothes

Companies and local retailers will have to campaign for instilling buyers faith to take up the rentals. The social distancing has been taking toll on many minds and the concept of “used or worn before” should not trigger sentiments or put off the potential customers .

For buyers, it is perfect time to detox your wardrobe and offer to sell /donate your clothes to rentals which you do not need or don’t wear anymore.

Economic Slowdown and Cash Crunch

The Covid’19 has seen many job lays offs, businesses closing down and huge debts constantly on a rise. In this scenario, there has been a trend of initial impulsive buying to later cautious buying approach adopted by most consumers due to shortage of finances.

Online Rentals

“IS IT SAFE TO BUY ONLINE”

Online sales have become the new normal for us. And most Fashion Rental Outlets are working towards providing access to affordable clothes on rent to consumers who would want to still buy good trendy wears  at cheap prices and remain fashionable.

  The future could see a possible cultural shift from more consumers going for Clothes on Hire post pandemic and surge of Online clothing rentals.