Subscription service includes accessories and support
By Alan Wolf, YSN
Electrolux is introducing a rental approach to appliance sales.
The direct-to-consumer subscription program, so far available in Sweden and Singapore, provides new or recycled floor care products along with accessories, preventative maintenance and replacement of faulty goods.
The initiative, called AtEase, offers the products and services for a fixed monthly fee plus a variable usage charge. Products currently offered through AtEase include Electrolux’s Pure i9 robotic vacuum cleaner and Well A7 and Pure A9 air purifiers. Additional floor and air care products will be introduced later this year, the company said, and more categories, including kitchen appliances and garment care, will be added to the service over time.
Electrolux said the subscription model supports the company’s commitment to sustainability and to limiting electronic waste. Specifically, every product returned to Electrolux through AtEase is inspected and refurbished for reuse or gives life to new appliances by donating its parts.
“If the product is too damaged or worn to be refurbished, we can reuse parts such as circuit boards, rubber bumpers or casings to extend the life of other products,” said James Ostridge, product-as-a-service director. “In fact, 75% of the parts we use in the refurbishment of a robot vacuum cleaner have been harvested from an end-of-life product.”
In addition, Electrolux said it is using AtEase to explore ways to improve how its products are built and maintained. “By learning from how our devices are used and restored during a subscription, we can develop preventative maintenance, reuse low-wear components and ultimately build products that last longer in the future,” the company said.
Electrolux first piloted AtEase in Sweden in 2019 and launched a similar direct-to-consumer subscription model last year in Singapore that offers the rental, set up, repair and recycling of appliance products.
