Disco ball, speaker or raclette machine… The brand offers several items for hire to promote more responsible consumption, while building customer loyalty.
Need a raclette machine for an evening with friends, or a drill for a DIY session? Your neighborhood supermarket could well become your favorite convenience store. The Monoprix brand has indeed launched the concept of loaning objects in two of its stores: it is currently testing it in Marcq-en-Barœul, in the North, and rue de Marseille, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.
Read alsoMonoprix is reinventing itself to adapt to post-Covid
This service, calledmy name is come back», thus allows everyone to borrow an object they need for an exceptional use, thus avoiding a costly and useless purchase in the long term. All types of everyday objects are offered, such as a printer, a disco ball or even an electric guitar. For the customer, nothing could be simpler: all you have to do is submit a photocopy of their identity card, and the object belongs to them for 48 hours, without paying anything.
Subject to availability of the item, all you have to do is go to one of the two existing stands and leave your identity card there in store, in exchange for the item. “The device works particularly well for objects whose use is occasional, such as DIY tools, kitchen appliances, or even objects related to the party“says Maguelone Paré-Harroch, director of innovation at Monoprix. As for the terms, there is no obligation to be a loyal customer to be able to benefit from the program.
To ensure the availability of an item, it is also possible to reserve it in advance: an application is being tested so that the customer can view and check the availability of an item on loan online. “my name is come back“Could well extend to more stores in the coming months, advances the representative of Monoprix.
Client faithfulness
For the brand, this program certainly does not bring in anything economically, but it has a completely different interest in terms of customer loyalty. “Monoprix wishes to develop service proposals in its stores, based on proximity to customers and local residents, in order to build customer loyalty.“, explains Maguelone Paré-Harroch. By setting up as close as possible to the customer, the brand does not hide its desire to become the benchmark convenience store. “Monoprix thus wishes to strengthen the local roots of its stores and the link with its customers, by encouraging the inhabitants of the district to contact their local store in order to benefit from occasional services useful for daily life.», explains the Director of Innovation.
Read alsoNormal, the Danish brand of “soft-discount” which wants to enter the daily life of the French
On the environmental side, the program also plays its role. It is part of the strategy and commitments made by the brand, in particular to promote reasoned consumption to meet customer needs. “This operation aims to encourage responsible consumption among customers, and allow them to avoid the purchase of objects which they would only use occasionally, and which they would have difficulty storing in urban habitats.“says Maguelone Paré-Harroch.
A fundamental trend
This original initiative more broadly reflects the place that the rental of property is taking in the daily life of the French. Combining both ecological and economic interests, it allows consumption while reducing sometimes dispensable expenses. On Leboncoin for example, “what increases sharply is the rental“, explained recently to the Figaro the general manager of the site, Antoine Jouteau.
«Renting allows households to protect their wallet and avoid buying new goods that they do not necessarily need, avoiding overconsumption. Products related to DIY or gardening are among the first concerned, specified the representative of the online sales site.“, he added. A basic trend therefore, which seems to be gradually gaining the ranks of the various players in French commerce.