Downturn drives up demand for rental goods

Renting goods as opposed to buying them is a growing trend, industry experts said yesterday.

The range of products for rent is also growing diverse, including everything from expensive musical instruments to inexpensive household and childcare products.

According to Lotte Shopping Co.`s online retail arm - www.lotte.com - demand for its instrument rental services that began in November has expanded six-fold as of yesterday. Items range from string instruments like violins, violas and cellos to the modern-day synthesizer. Rental costs vary according to the quality, but the monthly rental fee of, for instance, a "study-use" violin, is 40,000 won ($29), in addition to a security deposit of 20,000 won. Individuals can seek rentals for even for one day.

Demand for childcare products on the online mall www.11st.co.kr has also been picking up coming into January, the company said. Demand has doubled compared to the monthly demand recorded in the second half of 2008. One of the major popular items is baby cribs.

For InterPark (www.interpark.com), demand for renting massage chairs has hit millions of won since January. Consumers can use an electronic massage chair valued at 4.5 million won for a monthly fee of 99,000 won for a maximum of two years. There is, however, a contract fee of 285,000 won, while value-added tax is extra.

D&Shop Co. (www.dnshop.com) said it has been enjoying a rise in demand for its book rental services, while GS Home Shopping (www.gseshop.co.kr) has been receiving a positive response for renting household goods like water filters and bidets.

By Yoo Soh-jung

(sohjung@heraldm.com)