Reduce. Reuse. Replay?
If you’ve ever been in a house with kids, you’ve probably noticed that it’s often overflowing with a variety of toys. And often, kids don’t even play with a toy more than once!
This causes a buildup of outdated and under-appreciated toys scattered around since kids quickly outgrow them within weeks.
But that might be changing soon thanks to this London-based subscription service – Whirli.
Less waste. More play.
Whirli was created to allow its subscribers to “borrow” toys rather than purchasing outright. Think of it as leasing a car… but for toys.
The toys can be kept for however long the parents want, and once the child loses interest, they can be returned and swapped for newer ones.
Whirli uses a proprietary tech platform to track the over 50,000 toys that it currently has in circulation.
The service also gives parents the option to buy the toys at a discounted rate. Subscriptions begin at around $10 a month and the account is then given a certain amount of “tokens” that can be spent in the “library” of toys.
How does this help parents?
Since COVID-19 has caused more children to spend time indoors, toys are proving to be more and more essential to keep little ones occupied. But the economic downturn has caused parents to forgo spending money on entertainment and instead save their money on other essentials.
Whirli hopes to help financially struggling parents through this service while allowing the child more comfort during these difficult times for families.
More companies are playing the renting game.
Rebecca Hunt, an early-stage investor at Octopus Ventures stated, “The toy market is huge, but it remains mostly stuck in the dark ages of e-commerce 1.0 and offline retail. We believe there is a real opportunity for a new entrant like Whirli to disrupt with a new approach.”
Even toy giant Lego has started its own service where you can choose a plan, build, and then send it back.
Whirli is part of the booming subscription service industry that’s reshaping how we spend our money and managing exactly what we are spending it on.
It’s also a part of a recent shift towards renting things instead of owning. It seems more people are realizing it’s not only expensive to own, but also wasteful for the environment.
How do you feel about this shift towards renting? Do you think people are actually losing out on money in the long run? Do you often sign up for subscription services?
Let us know your thoughts on these questions in the comments section below!