Bringing fashion renting to the mainstream: Customer-centricity of fashion rental companies
Toivanen, Maria (2021)
Toivanen, Maria
2021
Master's Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-04-26
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202104183086
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202104183086
Tiivistelmä
Today’s conscious consumers have begun to question the unethical business models associated with fast fashion and are seeking sustainable alternatives for clothing consumption. This sustainability movement has created a rise in business models of collaborative fashion consumption (CFC) where instead of buying, consumers only access new clothes whilst prolonging the life of the garments. Renting, the ‘Netflix’ for closets is a prominent form of CFC and a market that is projected to grow exponentially in the coming years. Despite the sustainability benefits, renting has yet to gain popularity among the mainstream. Since the success of fashion renting depends on consumer acceptance, this study explores how fashion rental companies accommodate to consumers’ value creation through their service models. The findings can then guide fashion rental companies in designing their service offering to be customer centric, helping them to bring the service to the mainstream.
Customer-centricity is understood through the theory of customer-dominant logic (CDL). It asserts that value is not created by the service provider, but rather it arises in consumers’ everyday lifeworld relating to consumers lived or imaginary experiences in present, past or future. This study utilizes multiple qualitative methods. To understand how consumers experience value whilst using rental services, a netnography of 20 YouTube videos and blog articles is carried out. These findings form the discussion points for semi-structured interviews with six Nordic fashion rental companies, operating both physically and online.
This study finds that consumers experience value within the affective and psychological spaces of their lifeworld, meaning that a lot of the aspects that brought value and retracted it in the renting experience had to do with emotions, opinions, concerns, and fears of consumers. Hedonic value was experienced through discovering new clothes and the self-actualization it brought. Utilitarian value was found through saving money from shopping. Finally, environmental value of being able to consume clothes more sustainably brought guilt relief to consumers. Value, on the other hand, is destructed by concerns about the hygiene and ruining the clothes, as well as getting used to giving up ownership. Mainly, consumers value services that require as little effort as possible on their part.
Clothing rental stores focus on accommodating to these value creators and destructors through considerate selection of clothing, providing experiences and guaranteeing ease of service. The service models of the Nordic clothing rental companies studied in this thesis are customer-oriented, but on the other hand there are also areas for development, especially in terms of ease of service. The study contributes to the fashion industry’s sustainable transition by helping fashion rental companies to be customer-centric and thus, more attractive to the mainstream.
Customer-centricity is understood through the theory of customer-dominant logic (CDL). It asserts that value is not created by the service provider, but rather it arises in consumers’ everyday lifeworld relating to consumers lived or imaginary experiences in present, past or future. This study utilizes multiple qualitative methods. To understand how consumers experience value whilst using rental services, a netnography of 20 YouTube videos and blog articles is carried out. These findings form the discussion points for semi-structured interviews with six Nordic fashion rental companies, operating both physically and online.
This study finds that consumers experience value within the affective and psychological spaces of their lifeworld, meaning that a lot of the aspects that brought value and retracted it in the renting experience had to do with emotions, opinions, concerns, and fears of consumers. Hedonic value was experienced through discovering new clothes and the self-actualization it brought. Utilitarian value was found through saving money from shopping. Finally, environmental value of being able to consume clothes more sustainably brought guilt relief to consumers. Value, on the other hand, is destructed by concerns about the hygiene and ruining the clothes, as well as getting used to giving up ownership. Mainly, consumers value services that require as little effort as possible on their part.
Clothing rental stores focus on accommodating to these value creators and destructors through considerate selection of clothing, providing experiences and guaranteeing ease of service. The service models of the Nordic clothing rental companies studied in this thesis are customer-oriented, but on the other hand there are also areas for development, especially in terms of ease of service. The study contributes to the fashion industry’s sustainable transition by helping fashion rental companies to be customer-centric and thus, more attractive to the mainstream.