The coronavirus outbreak has caught everyone by surprise. Individuals, businesses, and governments all around the globe are learning the reality of lockdowns that have paralyzed the global economy and brought life, as we know it, to a grinding halt.
While there’s no certainty as to when we’d be safely out of this pandemic, there’s a growing sense around business-circles that somehow they have to keep things ticking. It’s often said that strong businesses are the ones that are able to adapt quickly and turn even the most challenging scenarios into opportunities for growth; so, don’t be surprised to see some innovative minds apply their genius and go on to set up a successful business in these unprecedented times.
Online Marketplaces Become Popular As The Pandemic Deepens
We at FATbit have already witnessed a surge in demand for many of our products to build online marketplaces of one kind or another. Indeed, when populations around the world are under strict lockdowns, it’s the online world where much of the economic activity is taking place. Just take Amazon for instance; its empty shelves at the local brick and mortar retail have gone online; but then its online stores themselves are running out of stock with a surge in panic buying. Cause for concern for Amazon, but a positive concern nonetheless; one that emphasizes Amazon’s demand in the current scenario.
The takeaway here is – there’s never been a better time to have an online business and better still a P2P online rental business. Our experts believe the demand for P2P rental will grow even more in this pandemic either out of people’s necessity or pure interest. People will look to use things that could serve their needs in the lockdown and then return them back to the owner at the pre-agreed price.
In this blog, we’ve listed the major online rental services that have become popular in a very short time and will continue to stay that way in the near future. Read on to find out more:
1. Medical Equipment Rental Marketplace
The outbreak of Coronavirus has seen the demand for medical equipment reach an all-time high. A lot of this equipment (wheelchairs, hospital beds, cold therapy units, ramps, patient lifts, and knee walkers) can be offered on rent. By launching a multi-vendor marketplace that allows people to rent medical equipment online, business-owners can experience widespread popularity in ultra-quick time.
2. Sanitization Equipment Rental Business
Many people are currently buying or renting sanitation equipment to keep their homes, gardens and surrounding areas virus-free. As such, the demand for hand sanitization dispensers and similar equipment will peak during the Coronavirus crisis. With that in mind, launching an online rental marketplace that connects owners of sanitization equipment with those in need is a great idea.
3. Gym & Fitness Equipment Rental
Gyms and all sorts of outdoor fitness activities have come under strict restrictions and people are beginning to lookup workout equipment for home use. A good example of this instance is – Ruckify, an online rental platform like Airbnb for all things, which recently reported an increase in demand for fitness and workout equipment. The platform is now encouraging gym owners to sign up and create a revenue stream as their gyms remain closed during the Coronavirus shutdown. Anyone starting a gym and fitness equipment rental marketplace can be sure to reap handsome dividends at this time.
4. Indoor Sports Equipment Rental
This is again very similar to the gym and fitness equipment. Indoor sports like snooker, squash, bowling, table tennis, badminton don’t need a lot of space; people can enjoy indoor sports for a healthy getaway from boredom. Marketplaces that offer easy rental options for a wide range of indoor sports equipment will certainly increase in popularity.
5. Games and Software Rental
Major online gaming platforms like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are struggling to keep up with an increased demand as people are forced to stay indoors. Microsoft Head of Xbox Phil Spencer recently confirmed in a Twitter post that the usage has gone up on almost everything as people look to gaming as a way to stay connected under lockdowns. A rental marketplace for online games with a subscription model wouldn’t go unnoticed in these times.
6. Books Rental Marketplace
Books are yet another way to properly utilize the abundantly spare time during the lockdowns. Since most of the bookstores are closed and at the same time people are asked to stay indoors, focus will turn to online bookstores to get the book supplies. A P2P books rental marketplace can be a great way to connect book owners and book shoppers with each other. In fact, unlike some other items, the demand for books will remain stable both during and after the pandemic.
7. Music Instruments Rental Business
Music is a remedy for countless ailments and in the darkest of times, humans are known to produce awe-inspiring works of art. During the lockdown, people will be looking to either learn a new instrument or hone their mastery over an existing one. Music equipment rental will be a growing trend under these circumstances and marketplace owners can expect a huge demand for their listings from music lovers.
8. Furniture Rental
Before the Coronavirus pandemic, the furniture rental trend was growing at an incessant pace; while the pandemic has somewhat slowed down its progress, we expect the trend to pick up pace yet again as people start to adapt to their new lifestyles and realize the importance for different types of furniture. At such a time the online furniture rental marketplaces that are able to meet their customer’s demand will reap the greatest benefits. In fact, once the pandemic is over, and the global economy begins to get back into shape, we expect the demand for furniture rental marketplaces to go even higher than at any time in the past.
Gain Speed to Market With a ReadyMade Rental Marketplace Software
Final Thoughts
If you have a vested interest in any of the aforementioned niches, then it’s strongly advised to consider building an online marketplace for the same. As part of our initiative to help entrepreneurs in this difficult time, we’re offering free consultation on our products and services. If you’re interested in a rental marketplace software then do check out Yo!Rent to know how it works.
Enhancing the software from its previous version, our team recently launched Yo!Rent V3, which is a big upgrade over Yo!Rent with rental operations-specific features like product inspection, rental fee deposit, document verification, and more. Yo!Rent V3 also comes with dedicated themes that play with color psychology for rental niches like dress rental, heavy equipment rental and automobile rental.
For any other queries and ideas feel free to contact our support team.
