Furniture company launches subscription program

Angelo Pantazis on Unsplash|Angelo Pantazis on Unsplash|Angelo Pantazis on Unsplash

A US-based furniture company has launched a subscription program that gives customers more flexibility and a place in the sharing economy.

The furniture industry continues to transform with innovations such as circular designs for children to encourage recycling, or 3D printed public furniture made from plastic waste. Feather, a furniture renting company in Brooklyn, New York that launched last year, has introduced a new service. They now offer a subscription program which brings the sharing economy model to the furniture industry.

To use the service, subscribers choose how long they need the furniture piece for. They can then browse and select styles across a range of brands including West Elm and Pottery Barn. Feather also offers an online Style Quiz which subscribers can complete to receive a curated custom package based on their answers and budget. Once the rental period time is up, subscribers can choose from four different options: renew, swap, buy or return. Feather cleans every item and runs quality checks before delivering to each new subscriber. In addition, Feather offers free delivery and set up.

Feather’s model offers flexibility to customers as it allows them to shop without making long-term commitments to their purchases. The program is currently running in San Francisco and New York but Feather hopes to start expanding along the coasts and into Middle America. Subscription lengths range from 3 months up to 12 months, but subscribers can choose to renew once this period ends. As well as removing the pressure to make big decisions, Feather’s subscription program helps save the earth. A sharing economy model ensures items are re-used and keeps furniture from filling up landfills. What other industries can benefit from introducing a subscription model?