Young German consumers’ perspectives of rental fashion platforms

Purpose This study aims to explore young German consumer perspectives of rental fashion platforms by studying their perceived benefits, potential barriers as well as preferred clothing categories to rent from. This “new” kind of shopping has not yet found great success among young German adults, although there is a substantial margin of growth for this generation. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study was conducted through 24 in-depth semi-structured interviews with young female and male German consumers out of Gen Y and Z. The analysis of the data was supported by the software NVivo. Findings Results indicate that young German consumers value renting clothes for occasions, to frequently change up their wardrobe, out of sustainability aspects and because of efficiency and convenience reasons. However, an entry barrier to the use of rental platforms still persists through a lack of awareness and information, as well as price and high demand issues. Research limitations/implications As the interview’s focus group was set to young German consumers, a generalization of the findings to consumers from other countries or out of other generations might be limited. Practical implications Managers first need to lower the currently existing entry barrier that prevents many consumers from renting fashion online by raising their awareness and providing them with sufficient information about the platform’s processes as well as their terms and conditions. Originality/value This research intends to better understand young German consumers’ attitude toward rental fashion platforms and why renting fashion has not yet achieved more success among them.The results first give managers helpful insights for implementing successful marketing strategies by focusing on spreading awareness among young German adults to stem current entry barriers. Second, these results serve as a basis for future quantitative research that deepens the understanding of the correlation of current findings with other variables (e.g. age, the importance of material possessions in consumers’ lives).