The Rise of the Sharing Economy
Perhaps not surprising in the age of Uber and Lyft, the automotive industry is another that could be affected; the PwC report found that 8.2 percent of adults have participated in some form of automotive sharing, and 32 percent of respondents cited more choice in the marketplace as a strong selling point for the practice. Furthermore, 56 percent of consumers believe that automotive sharing is more economical than purchasing a vehicle, and overall increased public interest in waste reduction also looms as a factor.
Fourth on the list is retail; according to the study, establishing trust through quality control is essential for this industry, with 48 percent of consumers expressing concern about garment quality, for example. Social responsibility is another growth area for this industry. Seventy-six percent of respondents say that the sharing economy is better for the environment; for this reason, the study suggests that retailers focus on adopting and promoting a message of sustainability.
Finally, as Airbnb has shown, the hospitality industry is vulnerable to disruption. According to the study, consumers today look for authenticity, local flavor, and a unique overall experience for their hospitality needs, all of which make the sharing economy appealing. Nevertheless, 69 percent of respondents said that they would not trust a sharing economy company unless it had been recommended by someone they trust, indicating that hospitality businesses need to focus on using social communities to reach customers.
Experts also note other industries where the sharing economy model has the potential to take hold. According to Fetto, work sharing spaces such as WeWork have started to grow “in the shadow of residential spaces.” In the heavy equipment and machinery industry, de Silva Leon sees a lot of potential for a sharing economy model, citing equipment rental platform Yard Club as a successful example. “They created this marketplace or this platform where owners of…any big heavy machinery equipment could put that equipment up for rent,” he says. He notes that the platform now competes against Caterpillar, because “companies that have to buy new equipment can just go out into this marketplace and rent that equipment.”
HOW TO COMPETE IN THE SHARING ECONOMY
According to Howard, success in the sharing economy is heavily dependent on improving communication. “While companies are looking at how to put a focus on collaboration at the core of their commerce efforts, if they’re really going to be successful, they can’t just have collaborative commerce without having a collaborative communications framework,” she says. Howard suggests companies approach communications “as something that’s an interactive activity that drives engagement and really serves to elevate and advance any type of collaborative commerce approach.” This means “if you’re in charge of marketing, or you’re in charge of customer relationships, whatever it is, [you need to be] thinking about yourself as an executive producer of your brand, as opposed to just a straight marketing or salesperson,” she adds.
To promote collaborative communication, Howard advises companies to put storytelling at the core of their business competency, with an emphasis on driving engagement and ultimately “[getting] as many people to participate in your brand as possible.” Establishing a consistent brand identity across all channels and using those channels to engage in two-way conversations with customers are both essential practices that can elevate companies in many industries.
The central tenets of the sharing economy, such as collaboration, building trust, maximizing the utilization of existing assets and resources, and an effort to reduce environmental impact, are sure to persist. “[The shift to a sharing economy model] starts with bigger assets like automobiles and homes, but then you can apply the same principles more broadly,” Egol says. “This is a trajectory of not only assets, but [also] time, where the number of categories that will be participating will expand, because there’s a lot of slack value in both physical assets and people’s talent.”
Assistant Editor Sam Del Rowe can be reached at sdelrowe@infotoday.com.