MIAMI — Cassandra Smith, left, spends $800 a month renting designer handbags and leases a luxury condo in downtown Miami. Environmentalist Zoee Turrill helped create a bike-sharing program at the University of Denver.
Though they might seem to come from different ends of the consumption spectrum, they have something in common: They’re not buying things.
The rise of rental or borrowing services catering from everyone from fashionistas to environmentalists has even spawned a marketing buzzword: the “transumer.” It’s a lifestyle that’s “less about treasure and more about pleasure,” according Reinier Evers of Trendwatching, an Amsterdam-based market-research firm that coined the term.
Smith is pragmatic about it: “Once I’ve used a purse for a while, I’m done with it. I’ve moved on to another trend.” The Associated Press; AP photo
