How To Build A Website For Online Tool Rental Business?

Do-it-yourself, the DIY industry emerged from the small garages of common households and transitioned into a global trend that gave boosts to many businesses. To name some, we have Ikea and the Home Depot stores. Both of these companies provide helpful hand tools and power tools at very cost-effective prices. However, purchasing an expensive tool for a weekend project looks highly impractical.

Thus, many customers prefer the tool rental service, which is conveniently available at all local Home Depot stores. Likewise, we have online tool rental websites gaining immense popularity. Players that provide equipment rental services on the Internet can target wider audiences and are better organized.

As a result, business owners don’t need to wake up early to open their local stores or sacrifice family time to attend to customers. All they need to do is maintain equipment and add inputs on the tool rental software.

Let’s take a closer look at how online tool rental businesses work and how you can start your own business.

In-depth Analysis of a Tool Rental Business

In this section, we are going to talk about various elements of an online tool rental business including:

1. Industry Outlook

• The global market size for the power tools rental industry was $11.4 billion in 2023 and is expected to cross $19.2 billion by 2033
• Both DIYers and local contractors are the core customer groups for a tool rental business
• The millennial population constitutes up to 73% of DIYers 
• Nearly 75% of DIYers rely on home improvement store websites for research

2. Business Model and Workflow

The business model of a tool rental business varies on the unique value proposition that you want to offer. It can include more affordable rental pricing, high-quality tools, doorstep delivery, exceptional customer service, etc. However, the workflow of the website usually remains the same:

1. The business owner uploads detailed listings on the website
2. Customers visit the website and select products
3. They use the rental booking calendar to enter rental date inputs 
4. To finally place an order, customers pay the rental fee inclusive of a rental security amount
5. The website owner fulfills the order via the selected fulfillment method, i.e., pick-up or delivery
6. On the return of the tools, the website owner inspects them for any damages and returns the rental security amount accordingly

3. Revenue Model

While the main source of revenue on a tool rental website remains the rental fee, the website owner can also opt for additional revenue sources such as:

– Selling consumable items

– Selling rental add-ons and services

– Selling subscription packages or premium memberships

– Displaying third-party ads on the website

– By levying delivery charges 

4. Product Catalog

The product catalog on a tool rental website can be very vast. It can include a wide range of products sourced from multiple brands. While renting out power tools, customers may also require several consumable items. You can enhance your tool rental website’s overall customer experience and boost revenue generation by providing consumable items as well.

Your online product catalog can include the following tools, brands, and consumables.

Building your Online Tool Rental Store

There are multiple ways to build an online tool rental store. You also may be aware of some methods, such as using an off-the-shelf solution, bespoke development, and API integration. In this blog, we will be covering the off-the-shelf solution method as these solutions are not only tested and tried but also quite cost-effective for both small and large-size businesses.

Step 1: Select a Tool Rental Software

While making the selection, verify the software’s functionality in a guided demo. For tool rental operations, you should confirm the availability of the following features in the tool rental software.

• Rental booking calendar
• Catalog management
• Order management
• Agreement eSign
• Rental security management
• Late returns and cancellations
• Product Comparison
• Rental Add-ons
• Sales functionality (for selling consumables)
• Daily, weekly, and monthly pricing
• Product combinations

Step 2: Installation and Configuration

Install the solution on your domain and configure primary pages, such as About Us, Contact Us, Mission, Values, Terms & Conditions, etc. In addition, you also need to enter your bank account details in the payment gateways and set up social media handles.

Step 3: Add Product Listings

Carefully add product listings along with proper details, descriptions, and high-quality images. You will also need to create and tag product categories that will help the customers in finding the right products. The rental pricing of the tools can depend on various models, such as cost-plus margin and demand-based. The reference for these models can be found in this article.

Step 4: Launch and Manage

Once everything is set up, you are ready to start renting power tools. The in-built features of your rental software will assist you in managing orders and promoting your business. As customers don’t mind renting out used tools, ensuring proper maintenance and cleanliness of the equipment can increase the rental life span of your equipment and improve long-term returns.

How Yo!Rent Can Help?

Yo!Rent is a readymade rental software made for the specific needs of rental business owners. As a result, it has all the essential features and functionalities required to manage online tool rental operations. Being a tried and tested solution, Yo!Rent immensely decreases your overall Time-to-Market (TTM) and is highly cost-effective in the long run.

Benefits of Yo!Rent

• Has Industry-specific designs
• Supports rental plus sales functionality
• Available at a one-time cost 
• Is a self-hosted solution
• Free 1 year technical support

Conclusion

Tool rental websites with a huge delivery network are a much-needed requirement of today. Business owners interested in launching their online tool rental stores help individuals easily procure the essential tools required for numerous types of projects, including plumbing, carpentering, gardening, roofing, painting, and more. For a successful start, they need to direct their efforts on building a captivating rental store and providing superior customer experience. A dedicated tool rental software will assist the founders in both.