Welcome to the Collaborative Economy
Airbnb, Lyft, RelayRides, ThredUP, Rent the Runway, oDesk, PivotDesk, Home Exchange, TaskRabbit - these are just a few of the countless startups that have emerged to enable customers and businesses to share resources, goods, and services.
At Altimeter, we've just published a report titled The Collaborative Economy, which focuses on this trend and how it impacts business. I proudly worked on this report over the last several months with my colleague Jeremiah Owyang, analyst and author of the blog Web Strategy.
We interviewed dozens of experts in the space, from Neal Gorenflo of Shareable magazine; the Collaborative Lab, founded by Rachel Botsman and author of What's Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption; Lisa Gansky, author of The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing; and representatives from some of the top sharing startups like Airbnb, Lyft, Home Exchange, oDesk, and carpooling.com.
Through these interviews, a few themes emerged:
The Collaborative Economy represents the next phase of the internet.
First, information became broadly available, but the power to publish remained in the hands of a few, in a one-to many model. Second, social media tools like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, forums and communities, enabled the average person to publish. People began to share ideas and media with each other in a many-to-many model. Third, in the Collaborative Economy, this many-to-many model extends beyond just ideas and media as people are empowered to share resources, goods, and services.
The growth of social, mobile, and payment systems powers scale and speed in the Collaborative Economy. With decreasing friction, people are able to share their resources, goods, and services with each other, at greater scale and speed than previously possible. In 2003, when this movement was in its infancy, I joined Couchsurfing and connected with a nice Italian couple who generously welcomed me into their home in Bali. Back then, I spent hours in internet cafes searching through listings, reading through profiles and testimonials, and emailing hosts to inquire and find workable dates. These days, booking accommodations is as simple as opening up an Airbnb app on my smartphone and selecting a desired location and date. A couple years ago, I did just that, requesting a room with a family who lived in the heart of Barcelona. I received a confirmation notification on my iPhone the very same day.
Societal and economic drivers indicate a trend that's not going away. There are several drivers of the Collaborative Economy, which are listed in the graphic below. Populating density in urban cities increases points of supply and demand. Consumers are more aware of the environmental impacts of their consumption habits, moving from a "consume and dispose" mindset to a "consume and conserve or share." There's a latent desire for community and growing distrust of faceless corporations. Micro-enterpreneurs can now monetize idle assets, for example by renting out cars when not in use, or selling second-hand goods. The convergence of these drivers with web advances mean that increasingly, people want and can find ways to share.
Finally, businesses risk being disintermediated - as customers transact directly with each other. Some verticals are already being disrupted, most notably the auto industry. Car ownership in America is trending down; and car-sharing is taking off in urban hubs with services like Zipcar, Lyft, RelayRides, and carpooling.com. Will fewer drivers buy cars and instead rent cars on-demand, through Zipcar or RelayRides? Will fewer travelers pick up airport rental cars and instead rent one more conveniently, and at less cost from a fellow traveler, through FlightCar? As customers increasingly share resources, goods, and services, they'll bypass traditional businesses whether for cost, convenience, or community. The Collaborative Economy is already having an impact in the hospitality, real estate, finance, and retail industries. Which companies will become the next Blockbuster in the Collaborative Economy?
This is the sixth report I've worked on at Altimeter, and it's been the most fun. I now happily share our Open Research with you in the spirit of the Collaborative Economy.
To read the full report, with recommendations for companies, download it below.
The Collaborative Economy from Altimeter Group Network on SlideShare
