The value of the global sharing economy — which includes rental products — is expected to reach $335 billion by 2025, thanks in large part to millennials and Gen Z. With their concern for the environment, increasing debt loads, and reduced purchasing power, younger generations are motivated to embrace renting in all its many forms. Not so with older generations.
One study found nearly two-thirds of people under 35 are open to renting products rather than buying them. Less than one-third of people over 35 agreed. That's significant, considering baby boomers still dominate consumer spending. This generation, reared alongside the rise of consumer culture, represents huge potential for the rental market.
Sure, boomers, by and large, already own many of the items — furniture, wardrobes and luxury goods — that millennials are increasingly opting to borrow. But as they age, many are trading in their large suburban homes, and all the stuff they contain, for the flexibility and freedom of — you guessed it — renting. People over 60 are rapidly entering the rental housing market, and along with that shift comes an opportunity to market short-term access to everything from apartment-sized furniture to tools, fitness equipment, and the latest in smart home tech.
Yet boomers are an overlooked segment for many startups in the rental space who are largely focused on a more youthful market. Expanding their reach to appeal to older generations, and perhaps even putting a cooler spin on age-related rental products like medical devices and mobility aids, could help bring boomers, and their enduring economic influence, into the fold.