As the coronavirus continues to spread, rental services for home appliances gained popularity with people spending more time at home. (image: Hyundai Rental Care)
SEOUL, July 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Ever since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, an increasing number of consumers are turning to rental services to use a variety of products without having to pay large sums of money to purchase them.
Major online shopping malls Gmarket and Auction reported a 561 percent increase in the amount of transactions for rental services during the first half of this year.
Transactions among those in their 20s and 30s jumped by a whopping 743 percent, leading the overall increase.
EBay Korea, operator of Gmarket and Auction, explained that those in their 20s and 30s tend to prioritize experience over possession, which might have worked as a major factor leading to the increase.
Transactions among those in their 40s and 50s, primary consumers of rental services, also jumped by 415 percent. Reports showed that 7 in 10 rental service users were in their 30s (32 percent) and 40s (37 percent).
As the coronavirus continues to spread, rental services for home appliances gained popularity with people spending more time at home.
Transactions for dishwasher rentals jumped the highest by 1,180 percent since last year. Rental transactions for food waste dispensers (233 percent), air purifiers (132 percent), dryers (78 percent) and microwaves (43 percent) have also increased.
Transactions for water purifier rentals also jumped by 320 percent, and online transactions for long-term rental cars jumped by 580 percent.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
