The customer does not buy a product, but instead rents it. This lowers the capital typically needed to gain access to the product. The company itself benefits from higher profits on each product, as it is paid for the duration of the rental period. Both parties benefit from higher efficiency in product utilization as time of non-usage, which unnecessarily binds capital, is reduced on each product.
How they do it: On Spotify, users are unable to purchase individual songs or albums. Rather, they gain access to all songs on their platform for a flatrate, monthly fee. Access is granted based on the membership and not via a purchase, making music consumption more flexible for customers.
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How they do it: GE rents out certain of its products to customers. This allows its customers to balance peak production requirements, or need to troubleshoot unexpected situations. This gives customers flexibility and cost advantages.
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How they do it: Blockbuster leveraged exclusive agreements with publishers in order to pass on cost savings to customers. Customers paid a monthly fee for video rental. In addition to benefiting from a lower initial price, Blockbuster also capitalized on the fact that movies were generally not available for purchase at affordable price points during initial release periods. Thus customers had a choice to rent, wait, or buy the film on tape at the much higher manufacturer’s suggested retail price targeted at other rental chains and film enthusiasts, which at that time ranged between $70–$100 per title.
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How they do it: The Home Depot offers a range of vehicles and tools for rent at over 1,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada, providing value and convenience for both our Pro and DIY customers. Customers do not need to purchase specialized equipment, but can rent them for a specific project’s duration.
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How they do it: Hewlett-Packard allowed its business customers to rent equipment. This allows customers to balance seasonality in server and storage capacity, data center move or consolidations, or disaster recovery.
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