Aaron’s Says Digital Tools Drove Sales Growth in Rent-to-Own

New digital tools and supply chain improvements have contributed to a leap in revenue at direct-to-consumer (D2C) lease-to-own and retail home goods seller The Aaron’s Company.

During the quarter ended Sept. 30, the company got a boost from operational improvements driven by its centralized lease decisioning and digital servicing and payments platforms, the company said in a presentation released Tuesday (Oct. 25) in conjunction with its quarterly earnings call.

In addition, the company reported that merchandise deliveries improved throughout the quarter.

“This quarter we delivered solid financial results in what remains a challenging economic environment,” The Aaron’s Company CEO Douglas Lindsay said in the presentation.

The Aaron’s Company reported a 31.2% leap in revenue during the quarter and said other contributors to the gains it made were its growing eCommerce, the high performance of its larger and brighter GenNext stores and its acquisition of BrandsMart.

“Our ongoing strategic investments in centralized lease decisioning, eCommerce, the GenNext store program and BrandsMart all contributed to these positive results as we continue to transform our customers’ in-store and digital experience,” Lindsay said in the presentation.

At the same time, high inflation impacted customer demand and payment activity. This led to lower lease revenues and retail sales, the company said in the presentation.

eCommerce revenues, on the other hand, rose 11.1% year over year in the Aaron’s segment of the business and 18.0% at BrandsMart, per the presentation.

Still, as a result of the additions and improvements, looking ahead, Aaron’s has raised its 2022 outlook from its previous one released July 25.

“We have raised the midpoint of our full year 2022 consolidated revenue and earnings outlook provided in July,” Lindsay said in the presentation.

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