The takeoff of the sharing economy

As traditional notions of ownership start to shift, the sharing economy is transforming the ways in which people consume everything, from products, content, ideas and skills, to personal assets like houses and cars, to knowledge and experiences.

Globally, we have been sharing assets for millennia, but this has been born for the most part out of necessity. As sharing begins to expand its influence into new sectors, and gains popularity as a more convenient and sustainable, less expensive and community-driven ideal, people are coming around to the idea.

This initial awareness and momentum is strong and building, but there is no denying that there is still a long way to go. Despite the promising growth rates we are witnessing within the industry at large, the sharing economy remains very much in its infancy today.

Substantiating this claim, a research report released by Amadeus in collaboration with YouGov, found that Australians are less likely than their fellow APAC travellers to jump on the sharing economy bandwagon when travelling.

While 49 per cent of Australians say they have never used sharing economy transport apps like Uber, Grab or Lyft to get around during trips, 47 per cent have never used sharing economy accommodation apps like Airbnb and Couchsurfing.

These are quite significant numbers, and the fact we don’t use sharing apps as much as other nations is a direct result of ‘business as usual’ here in Australia.

On the one hand, while Millennials ‘get it’ (they are the most likely age group to have used sharing economy apps for travel), the concept of ‘sharing assets’ is still quite foreign to other generations, as they are less connected and less inclined to be deeply ingrained in this sharing mindset.

Another factor to consider is that while Baby Boomers might choose to jump in a taxi from the airport or to head home from a venue, they otherwise drive their car because owning a car in Australia is for most locals, a necessity — we have a very large land mass, poor public transport (in relative terms) and better access to facilities that support owning a car.

Compare this to taking a cab or Uber from A to B in Hong Kong, and this is something that is certainly done more often than in Australian capital cities for both business and leisure purposes. This is due to many socio-economic factors, not least of all, convenience (or lack thereof when owning a car in Hong Kong).

So while it is currently business as usual for Australians, as more stories circulate pertaining to the benefits of sharing one’s assets, alongside the fast rate at which technology is lowering the barriers of entry to allow anyone to provide services to the masses, the sharing economy will gradually become normalised, and quite a game changer for many of us.

As an example, while the notion of lending out your own car or home would certainly be an alien thought to most Australians today — or otherwise put, the idea that ‘asset owners’ can capitalise on their idle assets, and say, rent out their car on the days they are not using it to pay off expenses — this outlook will progress in the not so distant future.

So, as the sharing economy heats up and knowledge and awareness continues to grow, it is only a matter of time before Baby Boomers and Gen X shift their thinking from, ‘Why would I use sharing economy applications’ to, ‘Why wouldn’t I?’

This article originally appeared in The Australian. You can access the original article here