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The downturn and credit crunch have set a new trend in the market – hiring instead of buying!
Hiring has become cost-effective substitute for the cash-strapped consumers in the UK, leading to rapid growth of rental market.

Rumbelows and Radio Rentals had big growth in the past recession, but suffered during days of cheap credit. Now, as banks have started responding to government’s push for lending, rental companies are seizing good opportunity of doing business.

According to Maureen Hinton, retail consultant at Verdict Research, companies are thinking more about renting when it comes to more expensive products. This trend has lot to do with credit and cash flow.
Although costlier in the long term, options of weekly payments in renting are more acceptable to people who are unable to get loan for buying. Considering extra expenses associated with expensive items like cars, renting can be more economical.

It is now much easier to get everything on rent from jewellery, furniture to cars and even pets online.
Erento, an online renting marketplace which began its niche lending services in Britain last year lending from cameras to holiday homes, grew threefold more than its expectations. Customer traffic jumped 92% in January alone.

According to Clinton Patterson, Erento’s director of international operations, credit crisis was the best thing to have happened for the company. He also considered changes in consumers’ behaviour in choosing renting as a better option than buying, as another contributory factor for biggest growth.

DIY products viz. hand drills and floor sanders are in high demand. Surge is also observed in rentals in consumer durables, household goods, particularly furniture and even in handbag rental business.