Consumers of electronic devices may have realized that they do not own 100% ownership of the equipment they purchase.
The software is always updated automatically, and only the latest devices are guaranteed to run well. The features that are still in use the first day may be deleted the next day. And some devices are too dependent on the Internet, and they can't be used without networking.
It seems that we only have the right to use these hardware devices. So why do we have to be a "owner"? Perhaps when using the device, we should also adopt the monthly mode, just like when using very Internet services.
A startup called Grover is now putting this idea into practice and launching a "monthly rental equipment" service. Although Grover has a long way to go in terms of actual business operations, its basic idea seems to be very attractive.
Grover's plan
Grover, formerly launched in Germany when it was called ByeBuy, has now launched the service in New York City and plans to expand to more American cities. Go to the Grover website and you can see a lot of equipment that can be rented on a monthly basis: smart watches, laptops, home weather stations, VR helmets, and more. You can even rent a first-generation Nintendo game console.
Of course, Grover is not the first online company to rent hardware equipment, but it is the first company to offer a wide range of consumer devices based on long-term leases. You can make a comparison: Lumoid offers a one-week equipment rental, emphasizing the trial before you buy the equipment; Parachut offers a longer rental period, but only rents photographic equipment and drones.
"What you need is not the product, but the services that these products provide," said Grover founder Michael Casso. “We believe that this is the right approach to how people interact with products.â€
Unfortunately, Grover's rental price is somewhat high, and there is no advantage compared to most people buying equipment directly. For example, renting a 38mm sports model of Apple smart watch, the fee is 35 US dollars per month (about 230 yuan). The price of this device is $299, which means that in just nine months, the rent will be higher than the price.
Other types of equipment rental pricing are similar. For example, renting an Xbox costs $30 a month, and it sells for $300. A 9.7-inch iPad Pro costs $60 a month and sells for $599. After the user rents the device for three months at the manufacturer's suggested retail price, Grove will stop collecting the rent and the product will be yours. But this policy is not very attractive, and there is no original warranty for any products you get through Grover (most electronic products can be guaranteed for one year.)
When talking about these issues, Caso explained that if the company has a large number of customers, it has the ability to talk about prices, then the price will drop. Grover also hopes to gather information about what devices people are willing to spend.
“The bigger our community, the more users, the more brands and retailers value us, and we can buy equipment at a lower price,†says Caso.
Therefore, direct rental is not the only intention of Grover. The company also wants to work with retail stores (whether online or offline) to treat rental equipment as an option when it comes to checkout. Caso believes that retailers themselves are not willing to do rental business because it requires a separate Inventories. However, such cooperation with retailers is only a plan of Grover, not implemented, and Casso acknowledges that large retailers such as Best Buy can indeed carry out their own leasing services.
“It's a big company, we are start-ups, and we hope that if they choose to do so, then we have to do better,†he said.
There may be opportunities in the Internet of Things
If there is an area where the practice of renting equipment really works, then this area may be the Internet of Things home appliance.
At the moment, investing in smart home systems is a real risk because there are too many incompatible standards in the industry. You don't know if the smart thermostat purchased today will be compatible with the smart door lock purchased five years later. And many devices depend on the capabilities of the remote Internet server, so the products you buy now may not be available one day.
The hardware lease model reduces this risk. If a device is not compatible with the rest of the device, or if it is significantly different from what you expected, then you only need to return it to the rental company and rent another one. For energy-saving products such as smart thermostats, energy-saving bulbs and outlets, you can easily compare the savings in electricity bills and rents.
Of course, this only makes sense if the rent is reasonable and the types of hardware that can be rented are sufficient. Grover is not yet able to meet these conditions. But Caso seems to have seen opportunities in this area.
“When we communicated with the retailers, they said, 'Wow, the Internet of Things is coming, this is a big deal,'†Caso said. “I don’t think people will always buy smart home devices. The monthly model is a good fit for this device. This is our chance.â€
Wind Motor Seat,Custom Wind Motor Seat,Reinforced Concrete Wind Motor Seat,Multi-Scale Wind Motor Seat
CRRC SHANDONG CO., LTD. , https://www.crrcsd.com