The Subscription Model for Everything: From Cars to Clothes, the Rise of a Rentable Lifestyle

Remember when we actually owned things? You know, like cars, clothes, and even DVDs-yes, physical discs that you could actually hold in your hands. Ah, the good old days when not all our possessions were on some kind of never-ending rental plan. Thanks to the subscription economy, it’s starting to look like we may never own anything again-except maybe our student loans.

It seems these days, you can rent just about anything you can think of. Want a car? No need to purchase; subscribe! Desiring some fancy new clothes for the weekend? Well, there’s a subscription for that too. Even furniture got in on the action, because why commit to a sofa when you can have a casual fling with one for a few months? But the question is, why is everything suddenly going à la way of a Netflix membership? More importantly, this beggars the question, is this a future we want, or have we all been taken in by some very clever marketing?

Netflix, But for Your Whole Life

Let’s face it, the subscription model started off simple. First it was our TV shows and movies, then it was our music. Pretty soon, companies started to realize people actually enjoy subscriptions. Why sell something once when you can get folks to keep paying for it forever?