Rent the Runway Shows How Revenue Can Outpace Subscriber Growth
Sep 14, 2026Rent the Runway posted record quarterly revenue while growth in its active subscriber base remained nearly flat.
The fashion rental company reported $97.7 million in second-quarter revenue, up 20.8% from a year earlier. Average active subscribers increased 1% to 148,259, while ending active subscribers fell 3.8% to 140,826. Total subscribers, which includes paused members, were essentially flat at 186,019.
Much of the revenue growth came from earning more from each subscriber. Rental revenue increased 21%, driven primarily by higher revenue per subscriber following an August 2025 subscription price increase and growth in add-on bookings. Because the year-earlier quarter came before that price increase took full effect, the comparison includes the benefit of higher pricing.
Add-on bookings jumped 81% from a year earlier. During the quarter, 33% of subscribers used an add-on, compared with 29% a year ago. Add-ons allow subscribers to rent additional items beyond those included in their membership.
Rent the Runway also introduced a temporary shipping charge on subscription plans in June to help cover higher carrier costs. The charge increased revenue per subscriber, but the company said it temporarily hurt retention during the month.
The subscriber results tell a more mixed story. Rent the Runway said the decline in ending active subscribers came mainly from a higher pause rate and lower acquisition. The company had used heavier promotions to bring in subscribers a year earlier and pulled back on those promotions this year. Improved retention compared with last year helped offset some of the decline.
Gross margin increased to 36.1% from 30% a year earlier, while net loss narrowed to $12.9 million from $26.4 million.
Insider Take
Rent the Runway’s revenue grew far faster than its subscriber base, and the quarter shows where that growth came from.
Pricing helped. So did add-ons, with one-third of subscribers using one during the quarter and bookings up 81%.
But the results also show the tradeoffs inside those gains. A new shipping charge increased revenue per subscriber while temporarily putting pressure on retention. Ending active subscribers declined, in part because more customers moved into pause and acquisition slowed.
That makes the quarter more useful than a simple revenue-growth story. Rent the Runway is getting more from the subscriber relationships it already has, while still working through how many of those subscribers remain active.
The next question is whether Rent the Runway can keep increasing revenue per subscriber while bringing paused customers back and keeping more subscribers active.
Related Member Resources
Rent the Runway’s quarter shows how strong revenue growth can sit beside flat subscriber growth, more pauses and retention pressure. These resources help operators assess the quality of that growth and understand what is changing when subscriber behavior moves.
- Subscription Growth Quality Framework: Beyond Subscriber Adds (Includes Scorecard)
Use the framework and scorecard to look beyond subscriber adds and assess growth through retention, engagement, revenue quality and long-term subscriber value. It is especially relevant when revenue is rising faster than the subscriber base, as it did at Rent the Runway.
- Subscription Retention Measurement Workbook (Excel): Diagnose Changes and Drivers
When active subscribers, pauses or retention begin to move, this guide and workbook help you find where the change is happening and what may be driving it. That helps separate changes in pause behavior, acquisition and retention instead of treating the ending subscriber count as one problem.
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