A Complete Guide to Launch Your Online Dress Rental Portal

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  • By Surya Sharma
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  • clock 10 minutes MIN READ
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  • calendar Updated: July 5, 2022

Starting a dress rental business online like Bag Borrow, Rent the Runway, Le Tote, The Black Tux, and much more have made it easier for people who love to wear designer clothes to rent them for special occasions.

During the starting phase of such a business idea, renting clothes seems odd. However, its success has opened paths for a plethora of such businesses, and still, the fashion renting industry has potential and will continue to emerge in the marketplace.

The online dress rental business worldwide is expected to reach USD 1.96 Bn by 2023, at a CGPR of 10.76%.

When starting a clothing renting business, you need to decide what type of products you want to offer and your brand’s business model.

You get every detail about launching a dress rental website or mobile app, such as features to consider, business model, etc., to book dresses for weddings, parties, prom nights, and more.

What is the best business model for a dress rental business?

The dress rental business model depends upon partnerships with designers and agencies to let customers buy newly designed accessories and clothing.

There can be two types of business models:

One-time rental

You will rent dresses with the help of an online platform website or mobile app for a few days to a week and charge a fee from the total rental price without needing to own a piece of clothing. The charges include laundry, dry cleaning, service charges, etc. Rent taken from a single piece of clothing delivers a remarkably lower threshold to try something new.

Subscription-based rental

In this model, your customers will be taking monthly subscription fees and the opportunity to buy 3-to 4 apparel in a month. Further, the subscription and number of clothes to be rented depend upon the brands or designer. Using the subscription model, it becomes manageable to offer comprehensive clothes collections.

The revenue model for an online clothing rental service

Your online dress rental platform can bring in revenue from the following modes in addition to renting clothes:

Commissions

Every dress rental transaction on your website earns you a commission.

Advertising

Allow the brand to advertise on your website or mobile app apart from the long-term monetization strategy.

Featured or Sponsored Listing

By giving a fee, dress owners can have their products featured on the website’s homepage and other prominent sections.

Annual subscription model

Users will pay for a subscription in exchange for benefits such as reduced delivery fees, cashback, or even a free dress rental if they successfully register.

SWOT Analysis of dress rental business

Strength

  • One-time product investment

  • Annual requirement

  • Low-investment business model

  • Anyone can begin this business

  • The cost of branded clothes is much high

Opportunity

  • Your customers will get the latest variety

  • You earn more than the cost price

Threat

  • Fashion gets old day by day

  • Cloth stitch reduce their life

  • After a particular time of usage, the cloth becomes dull

Components for online rental platforms

Homepage

When it comes to the homepage of any business, it must be simple yet interactive to audiences. It must clarify to users what this business is all about and how to search for products. Long information is not recommended; besides, try to develop a crisp page with important details.

– Famous styles

It will be best to display a few popular and attractive clothes on the homepage to grab your customer’s attention.

Include these sections on your homepage:

1) Item name

2) Designer name

3) Product pictures

4) Add to favorites option

5) Rental price

– Season Styles

Adding a season styles option on the homepage eases customers to search for renting clothes as per the season’s requirements.

Furthermore, you must offer discounts to your new users to motivate them to buy from your website or mobile app, which will boost the conversion rate. E-commerce businesses use this strategy to increase the registrations to connect them through emails even if they don’t buy anything from them.

Pages to allow customers to rent dresses

Various website or mobile app pages that display particular clothing items should be highly informational. Everything must be organized, from showing images to its material details and renting process, keeping user experience in mind.

– Rental Process

You must finalize a process that must be easy when users rent something they can do, so it takes a few clicks with few details to register like Pincode, size, delivery date and time, etc.

The page must include these details:

1) Product details: Details about the product being in trend

2) Size and fit: Table to make it easier to select the correct size

3) Product details: Dress type, style, the material used, etc.

4) Share buttons: Share products on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, etc.

– Dress Images

People like to see images from every angle before buying. So, your online platform must add HD images showing a model varying that dress. Or you can also showcase customers’ photos who have rented them previously as it will increase brand value and trust among your buyers.

– Recommendations

Allow your buyers to check the recommendations section similar to the product they are checking on your online platform.

Navigation

The navigation bar lets users search products as per category in the clothing business; you can add tabs like wedding, party dresses, occasions, accessories, etc., which further include options like stores and designers.

– Designer

In the designer tab, users get every detail about the dedicated designer, their products, and the availability for rent.

– Stores

Allow users to click on any store page to get every detail about the store, like location, contact info, booking system, types of clothes they rent, etc.

– Filter

Give users the option to apply the filter per size, brand, neckline, sleeve, color, designer, style, and more so that they can search easily.

The process for checking out

Initially, all the information is collected from customers to rent an outfit. It’s now time to fill in the shipping information on the card. Unlike other e-commerce sites, your attire rental app or website shouldn’t break the process down into segments and then wrap it up on one page. Don’t overlook the payment gateway’s secrecy.

You can also facilitate a feature that lets your users purchase orders rather than deliver them from nearby locations.

User account

Registered customers can view and manage all aspects of their orders, profiles, and perks through their profile.

There should be separate sections for:

– Order history: View your order history.

– Invites: Earn credits by inviting others.

– Orders in progress: View and edit your orders.

– Appointments: Information about appointments with sellers

– Credits: Check out the available referral credits.

– Profile: Make changes to your profile.

– Assessment: Submit personal information to receive a style assessment.

Assistance

For those familiar with e-commerce websites and mobile apps, the features of a dress rental online site can be overwhelming. However, as a result, you must deliver a comprehensive Customer support team to make things easier for customers. Thus, your website’s Support section should be capable of answering every query related to the website’s features and services.

Request a dress

If customers can’t seem to find the attire or accessories they want, they can place a request. This feature will also allow you to expand your product categories in the long run without spending much time doing market analysis.

Login

Not every customer will feel at ease signing up immediately. However, many e-commerce sites and mobile applications allow customers to like products and add them to their cart without registering. This feature should be considered when creating a dress rental website or app because it can boost the number of times consumers purchase on your website or app and enhance conversions.

A step-by-step approach to starting a rental business

Step 1: Research thoroughly your target market

Before developing a website or an app for your business and launching, it is always recommended to research and analyze who will be your customers, what their needs are, etc. will help you develop a product that will for sure allure your customers.

How to research the target audience:

– Demographics: Find out how old your consumers are, their location, their devices, and so on.

– Behavioral patterns: Find out what makes a buyer less likely to use your dress rental platform and their security expectations.

It is always best if you can create a user persona of your ideal user.

Step2: Choose a monetization model.

The next step is to choose your business model for your renting business, like one-time payment, subscription, and other modes to earn money like advertising, commission, etc.

Till now, you must have an understanding of your target audience; it will be easier for you to predict which model they will like.

Step 3: Hire a development company

The next step is to look at a website or app development company with the development team, which includes a website or mobile app developers, UI/UX designers, testers, etc. you can consider tech stack, design, features, workflow, etc.

Step 4: Make a Minimum Viable Product

Developing an online dress rental platform is a large and complicated process. It is best to start with a minimum viable product and evaluate its technical and business performance. You’ll be able to figure out what users like and don’t like about your platform if you take an MVP approach and improve the app or website before launching it.

Top Dress Rental Mobile Platform

Poshmark-Buy & Sell Fashion

This app is a massive online store where you can buy, sell, and rent various new and used items. Cosmetics, fashion items, etc., from well-known brands such as Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton, and others are among the items on the list.

Style Lend

Style Lend lets customers select from numerous unique designer items hand-picked from New York City’s most fashionable closets. Items are delivered the very same day to buyers in New York. So if a dress isn’t ideal, a customer can exchange it for another classy look.

Rent the Runway

It is one of the most popular apps right now, based on a fantastic concept of using clothes. Furthermore, it is a perfect fit for this list. You can rent the finest designer dresses here for a few hours, a day, a couple of days – however long you need them.

Le Tote-Fashion for Rent

Do you have to change your clothes right now? You don’t want to spend a fortune on fashionable clothes, do you? We’ve figured out how to solve your problem. This dress rental app is free to download.

Not only dresses but you can rent every type of clothing. The app has a large number of options. You’ll undoubtedly find something to your liking. Then, examine the clothing and decide on a rental price. Filters for product searches are available.

How much does it cost to build a clothing rental platform?

The cost to develop an online rental portal, whether a website or an app, depends upon various factors like features, design, project size, tech stack, the hourly rate of developers, time frame, etc.

A major factor that is crucial in development is the hourly rate of developers, which depends upon their location. Say an application that costs 50,000 dollars in the US will cost only 15000 dollars in India.

Wrapping up

Clothing is a love for humans, and everyone loves to wear different and unique clothes whenever they go out for an occasion or a party, especially women. Thus, starting a rental business is always best for entrepreneurs if they are interested in starting such businesses.

The renting model has a great scope; all you need to do is work on the features of a rental platform and a development company with prior experience in developing such apps. Also, it is best to develop a flexible business model to make changes if required in the future.

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