Rent the Runway plans same-day delivery

Dive Brief:

Rent the Runway is planning to begin offering same-day delivery, starting in New York City and later expanding to other markets, TechCrunch reports.
Customers who order by noon can have their orders delivered by 5 p.m., receive live updates in the meantime and change their delivery window, according to the report.
The apparel rental company already has same-day delivery for orders placed by 2 p.m. in Manhattan, but that was previously only for certain items; the new service includes anything found online. Same-day deliveries will be available Monday through Saturday, and cost $9.95, (same as standard shipping) and, as of now, are free for the company's PRO members, who pay $29.95 per year.

Dive Insight:

Expanding and improving same-day delivery is a natural move for the company, as it represents another way to solve customers' apparel needs for a wide range of events without friction.

Rent the Runway has a strong millennial following, partly because consumers' growing environmental concerns fit with the retailer's model of reusing the kind of apparel customers would otherwise likely wear only once — at weddings and other milestone social events. A 2015 study from Nielsen showed that 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for a product if it came from a company that's committed to making a positive environmental impact, up from 50% in 2013.

In addition to incorporating brick-and-mortar showrooms into its strategy, Rent the Runway has played with its model, launching an unlimited subscription service last year, for example. Also last year, the company partnered with Neiman Marcus, an on-brand partnership thanks to its upscale clientele. But the collaboration might be doomed considering the department store's recent struggles. The company hasn't said which cities will also see the ramped-up delivery service, but it will likely be in Chicago, NYC, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and/or Los Angeles, where Rent the Runway runs brick-and-mortar stores and which already have same-day pick-up services.

A spokesperson for Rent the Runway told Retail Dive last year that the company had reached profitability, but that as a private company "they unfortunately cannot disclose financial specifics." Late last year the company closed a $60 million funding round that, in part, went toward expanding its physical footprint.