Clothing rental looks strong in UK this festive season

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Dec 8, 2021

Fashion stores may be seeing strong demand for new going-out clothing this festive season, but consumers are also interested in renting rather than buying their partywear.

A new report from VoucherCodes said 69% of the 2,000 Britons it surveyed would consider clothing rental this Christmas. And 38% of those questioned had tried clothing rental previously.

Rental has increasingly become an important part of the fashion retail sector in recent years as consumers seek to access items they might otherwise not be able to afford and as sustainability consciousness increases. Rental specialists put a big focus on the sustainability advantages of clothing hire.

And it’s interesting that the study showed the sustainability factor is actually more important to those consumers who are considering rental than the price issue.

Some 33% said rental makes them feel better about their eco contribution and 16% said it reduces their guilty feelings over buying a special occasion outfit that they might only wear once.

That said, around a third of Britons are still unenthusiastic about rental due to hygiene issues, 23% worry they might damage the clothes and 21% would be embarrassed if people knew they’d rented.