WHAT’S COMING NEXT FOR RENTAL AND LEASING TRENDS?

The rental and leasing sector has undergone rapid digitization and integration of emerging technologies over the past few years. As we enter 2024, promising innovations around automated rental platforms, predictive analytics, electrified fleets, and blockchain-enabled transactions will disrupt the industry.

Self-Service Rental Marketplaces Go Mainstream

Driven by smartphone ubiquity and demand for convenience, automated rental marketplaces like tools, party equipment and outdoor gear continue scaling rapidly. Over 50% of rental bookings happen across integrated mobile platforms enabling location-based inventory discovery, reservations, remote access pickups from storage lockers, and IoT monitoring by 2025. Cashier-less stores also appear allowing seamless book-and-go.

Predictive Demand Algorithms Define Inventory

Sophisticated machine learning algorithms analyzing external events, weather, community schedules and other rental drivers will enable providers to anticipate demand spikes, capture more opportunity and align inventory volumes dynamically to local interests come 2024. IoT fleet telemetry furthers real-time optimization. These predictive demand capabilities will minimize idle assets and maximize customer satisfaction through reliable availability.

EV Fleets Replace Diesel Across Sectors

Accelerating commitments to sustainability goals and enabled by advancing battery densities and modular charging networks, electric rental truck, heavy equipment and non-luxury passenger vehicle fleets largely displace diesel equivalents across North American operators prior to 2025. Despite higher upfront capex, dramatic savings from slashed maintenance and fuel costs make payback periods relatively short.

Blockchain Streamlines Agreement and Payment

Come the next 24 months, enterprise blockchain solutions emerge as integrated features of major rental management software suites thanks to decentralized ledger capabilities to execute and automatically validate smart contracts governing agreements, insurance coverage and payment collection. Cryptographically secure transactions foster trust between parties while powering seamless experience and accounting.

Leveraging these technological disruptions to legacy processes around customer experience, planning, fleet assets and financial transactions, leading rental providers will reshape supply chains and community services – ultimately driving a renaissance for the industry at scale over the coming years.

Those relying merely on established business conventions face growing risk of disruption. But embracing the innovations promises to unlock new levels of reliability, sustainability and customer satisfaction – the foundations for ongoing success.