The home good bundles would count as one of the four items.

“One of the things that we continue to hear from our subscribers, other than that they want more, was what other parts of my life can you solve and home was something that kept popping up,” said Maureen Sullivan, chief operating officer at Rent the Runway, adding that the partnership would give the company more access to data in hopes of luring in new customers.

“We have a ton of learnings around what people want to rent in apparel and accessories, but we don’t know what people want to rent for their home.”

The partnership with Rent the Runway, whose customer is an average age of 29, will also potentially help West Elm attract a younger generation of shoppers, Sullivan said.

On home goods retailer Williams-Sonoma’s last earnings call in November, Chief Executive Officer Laura Alber highlighted that product mix and lower price points have helped the company bring in new shoppers across brands.

“West Elm continues to grow its business across not just furniture but in other categories… And so they’re attracting younger customers and customers coming into the market with not only price point but mix,” Alber said, adding that they have also had success with Williams-Sonoma’s dinnerware line Open Kitchen, which is “attracting a younger clientele and new customers to the brand.”

This is the first time West Elm has made products available for rent.
“Together we can listen and respond to customer shopping behavior, allowing demand to drive iteration,” said President of West Elm, Alex Bellos. Bellos did not provide comment on whether the partnership would lure in younger shoppers.

Fleiss also co-founded Jetblack, part of Walmart.com Inc’s first portfolio company, Store No. 8., in 2018. Jetblack is a same-day delivery service where customers can place orders using a text message.