Rent the Runway to add extra item to each order in new customer initiative

Rent the Runway (RTR) has announced a new initiative which will see it add one extra item to every shipment under its rental subscription programme in a bid to evolve the customer experience.

Entitled ‘Era of Extra’, the move comes as part of RTR’s ongoing strategy to reinvest in the customer, a multi-faceted factor that was introduced in the company’s fiscal 2023.

Through the initiative, subscribers who are currently part of RTR’s ‘8-item, 2-swap’ plan will now receive 10 items per month, a release stated.

Commenting on the move, Jennifer Hyman, co-founder and CEO, said: “We believe that there is strategic value in giving her more items in her subscription, because we have seen from years of testing that providing an additional item drives higher loyalty and engagement.

“Especially at a time when consumers are doing the maths on what they spend and many companies are taking away rather than giving back, we are confident that this is the right move for our customer and for our business.

“The more items she receives from RTR, the more she wears. When she rents more frequently, we believe that she is more likely to widen her use cases, share RTR more with her friends and be a subscriber longer.”

The decision to implement the service comes after RTR reported benefits to similar offers in the past, including an increase in buyer purchases, stronger referral rates and heightened retention.

Over recent years, the company has set about improving its capital efficiency of its inventory programmes to provide value without impacting gross margins.

This month, the platform is also looking to introduce new product features to make finding and choosing items easier, such as offering the ability to rent a complete outfit styled on the site.