Young travelers are swapping ownership for access, renting drones, cameras, and camping gear to cut costs and waste.
From drones to pocket cameras, young Chinese tourists are opting to rent instead of buy this Golden Week holiday, with gadget orders surging more than 600% as travelers seek affordable ways to upgrade their trips.
Rentals start at about 30 yuan ($4) a day for pocket cameras, while drones with 4K cameras can be hired for under 200 yuan. The lower costs are drawing young travelers who want high-end gear without paying thousands for equipment that often goes unused.
On Aizujii, a leading electronics rental platform, device orders have tripled since September. DSLR rentals jumped 420% from a year earlier, while drone demand rose 350%, with long-endurance models favored for trips to far-flung northwestern regions like Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Qinghai, and Gansu.
A consumer surnamed Yan, browsing an electronics rental shop in Lanzhou, Gansu province, said spending 200 to 300 yuan to rent a high-end drone made more sense than paying tens of thousands to buy one that would sit idle after a trip.
Renting also shields consumers from rapid tech obsolescence, said Hu Zuohao, a marketing professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, who argued the trend could give China’s green economy a boost.
Beyond electronics, rentals are expanding to outdoor gear such as camping kits, sports bikes, and protective equipment.
In a commentary Friday, state-run Economics Daily noted that while expensive gadgets were once a status symbol, today’s young consumers see renting as a practical way to access high-end products without long-term costs, reflecting a shift from ownership to use.
“Renting professional-grade equipment for a small fee lets them try new products efficiently, stay within budget, and embrace a sustainable, need-focused approach to consumption,” the commentary stated.
Experts caution that risks remain, from shoddy equipment and data leaks to the difficulty of reclaiming deposits, unless platforms improve oversight and after-sales support.
Still, the overall market is surging. China’s rental sector grew 32% in 2024 to reach 4.2 trillion yuan in transactions, serving more than 750 million users, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation.
(Header image: VCG)
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