Sharing economy – power to the people!

The term “Sharing Economy” surfaces quite often, and it makes us wonder; what is it all about?
Let’s have a quick look at the definition:
“An economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the Internet”.
(source: https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sharing-economy)
Sharing economy platforms have become increasingly popular in the last few years, and they have changed the way in which we commute, travel and buy among many other activities.
Thanks to the advances of technology and the internet, anyone can now become a retailer; as we can now search, share and buy faster and cheaper than ever before. The model works well for expensive items that people own, but do not make use of; such as holiday homes, rooms, cars etc. The leading businesses that have embraced, and taken advantage of the concept or “movement” of  “sharing economy” are no longer small start-ups, and the size of companies like Airbnb and Uber are now surpassing and rivals to the major conventional players within their industry.

How did it start?

Many of these platforms emerged after the 2008-2009 economic collapse, and many people lost their jobs and their economic stability. These platforms gave people opportunity to become a retailer – selling a service or the usage of something that they already owned, providing a way to get some kind of income. The consumer got a service cheaper than having to buy it themselves or using conventional providers.

The digital users are in charge!

With technology becoming more advanced and personalized, and with the rise of the social networks, it’s easier to connect with users to find any service that they needed such as Smartphones that let people see where the nearest car for rent is parked via GPS, or where the nearest second hand item is for sale etc., social networks that build trust and credibility, and online payment systems that handle the billing without having to exchange physical money. The users of these services now have a major power, as they can buy, pay, comment, review and share anything they want with just a few touches or click on the smartphone, tablet or computer. These comments and reviews are then used to inform other users, who very often make a decision whether or not to buy the service, based on the information from previous users.

What’s next

No one can really predict the future, but it looks like that the sharing economy is here to stay. Still predominantly popular in countries such North America, England, France and Spain, the movement is slowly spreading to other parts of Europe and the rest of the world in shape of local initiatives, and of course because of the major players like Uber and Airbnb.
The sharing economy movement gets stronger as more people takes advantage of it – both as consumer as well as provider. It has great advantages but also some disadvantages, which we will write about in another post. One thing for sure is we are slowly but steadily changing the way we acquire goods and services.