I recently read a post by a classmate about eCommerce business Rent the Runway. They provide millions of women the ability to rent designer dresses, accessories and other essentials for a fraction of the retail price (about 10%). Their target market is mostly women that cannot afford to buy designer wear. They capitalize on the fact that women associate high fashion with looking, and feeling, beautiful. Moreover women start to get addicted to this feeling so they are ensured customer retention. The company aims to make rental a significant part of the retail industry. Which I think is great because retail does not just have to be in the business of selling products but rather using products to deliver experiences when they are needed.

Here are a few services the business offers to gain a competitive edge and differentiate themselves. When you order a dress they ship it to you in 2 sizes to ensure you get one that fits you best! They work directly with designers and have designs from over a 170 designers. They have stylists you can call that give you advice on how to accessorize your outfit. Customers can also rent these accessories at a low price.

My classmate’s post asks about the possible non-functional requirements of this website and I thought of a few things.

Security- Customers’ personal and credit card information needs to be protected.

Performance- Webpage loading, screen opening and refreshing needs to be quick.

Capacity- The system needs to be able to store large amounts of inventory and consumer data. It also needs to be able to handle many transactions simultaneously.

Availability- Customers should be able to access the website whenever there’s connection to the internet. Maintenance times should not be too long.