Communicating access-based consumption: company framings of home furnishings rental

Access-based business models such as product rental hold promise extending product lifetimes. However, a lack of consumer acceptance hinders these models from becoming mainstream in the business-to-consumer market. In order for rental models to resonate with consumers, they must be designed and communicated in a way that aligns with consumers’ needs. While a number of studies have addressed business model design, few have looked at how rental is promoted to consumers. Focusing on the growing sector of home furnishings rental, we use a qualitative content analysis of company websites to explore whether and how company messaging reflects consumer drivers for product rental found in literature. We find that, contrary to studies of sustainable business models that suggest emphasising sustainability aspects, sustainability is not widely communicated. In addition, while messaging does reflect broad drivers found in literature for a variety of consumer goods –including economic benefits, freedom from burdens of ownership, convenience, and novelty–home furnishings rental companies represent these drivers somewhat differently. This includes appealing to more intangible ideas such as aspiration, self-expression and homeliness, as well as citing benefits specific to home furnishings such as the literal burdens of transporting furniture when moving. Our study raises interesting questions about the role of sustainability in messaging and provides insights from companies actively engaged in rental that can potentially help ensure that company messaging resonates with consumers. We also contribute empirical findings on home furnishings rental, which has seen increasing engagement by practitioners but has received little consideration in academic literature.