OTTO NOW: So gut lief das erste Jahr Miet-Commerce

OTTO Now was launched on 12 December 2016 – since then, thousands of hire contracts have been signed and the start-up has learned a lot about the acceptance of the market`s innovative business model. At the outset, only a limited number of products from the assortments Multimedia (e.g. Xbox One), Home Appliances (e.g. Hanseatic washing machines) and Sports (e.g. Hammer Crosstrainer) were available. The assortment now includes more than 100 different products.

Most popular product groups

Over the year as a whole the three most popular product groups were TVs, smartphones and coffee-makers. Unique products such as drones or treadmills, which probably very few people own but would love to use, were also in high demand and are ranked in OTTO Now’s top ten.

Rental trends: seasonal products and long-term use

Throughout the year the OTTO Now team, which now has 15 members, also observed seasonal anomalies and trends. At the beginning of the year there was a spike in demand for fitness equipment: were New Year`s resolutions the cause?

Another insight from the market test is that more and more customers want to use their products longer and not only test them for a short time. The interest in longer minimum hire periods has increased significantly throughout the year. This is also due to OTTO Now’s iterative approach in establishing this business idea, and its ability to experiment with different hire models. Customers currently have four hire periods to choose from: three, six, twelve or twenty-four months. More than half of all customers now opt for the two longer-term possibilities and thus keep their products for at least a year.

Successful test run for OTTO Now

Instead of conceiving this model from a long-winded theoretical perspective, the founders implemented live market-testing at an early stage in order to gather immediate feedback from consumers. David Rahnaward, co-founder of OTTO Now, confirms that the start-up will stick to this approach in future. “We are like explorers in unchartered territory. The next step for us will be to attract more and more consumers to our service portfolio, which ranges from hiring to free services such as delivery, set-up and pick-up at the end of the contract period.”

Marc Opelt, Member of the OTTO Management Board for Marketing and Spokesman OTTO has accompanied this innovative business model since day one. “When I’m on my way to a business appointment in a car-sharing vehicle I’m reminded how unprecedented the strong presence and popularity of the sharing economy is. We are particularly pleased to be able to confirm this trend and drive this development with OTTO Now in the e-commerce sector as well”, he says.