TULU, based in Tel Aviv and New York, provides people who live in apartment complexes with household items they can rent. TULU works with building owners to set up smart rental rooms for tenants, and is designed to help consumers with limited storage space or funds to access the items they need. Products available for rent include essentials (such as KitchenAid mixers, vacuums, tools, and air mattresses) as well as recreational items (including VR headsets, Playstations, and projectors). TULU’s smart rental stores are open 24/7 and charge either an hourly or fixed rental rate, depending on the item. In light of COVID-19, the company pivoted this quarter to also sell everyday CPG and food products, among them pasta, soap, and toilet paper.
There are a myriad of techniques out there for studying consumers. There are demographics, psychographics, but there are also...logistigraphics! (Ok, this isn’t an actual field, but bear with us.) The point is: There’s opportunity in addressing the specific, logistical challenges impeding your customer’s day-to-day.
If you, like many of our readers, are packed into a crowded metropolis like a sardine — then you know the challenges of city living are real. Hence a number of innovations (TULU included) confronting these unique struggles. For example, products like Ori Living’s robotic interior designs help urbanites eke the most value out of tiny, overpriced spaces. Automated home gardening systems like Verdeat bring the fantasy of a plant-packed apartment to life, but with zero effort for the on-the-go city dweller.
But with COVID-19, urban living difficulties are amplified, especially those that TULU serves. Rising unemployment means consumers are more strapped for cash, even less able to purchase Roombas and KitchenAid mixers for themselves. TULU’s pivot to selling food and CPG products, right in users’ buildings, is handy as we avoid public supermarkets.
The question for you and your team: How can you design your offerings to take on the barriers your customers face in accomplishing daily tasks? Better yet, can you account for how your customers’ circumstances could change at the drop of a hat — or the drop of a pandemic?
Stay healthy,
The TrendWatching content team
