P: Is there a particular demographic driving the popularity of the sharing economy?
G: Initially, millennials represented a large group of early
adopters. However, recent research (since 2012) has shown
that people from young teens through into their 80s are exploring life and work styles based on sharing. For many retirees who
still own homes, share-based services allow them to generate
income from their home or do tasks like dog-sitting for others
in their community.
P: What do you see as the biggest hurdle that may
prevent companies from implementing this model in
their business?
G: For most existing businesses and brands, the biggest hurdle is
blindness to the idea. It’s really quite easy for any type of business
to explore and experiment with new models, markets or partnerships as a way to turning their “sell it once to one person” model
into a platform or open model wherein a product or service can
be shared or accessed by many. Real estate is a perfect example.
In years past, businesses owned or leased a building, used it
when they needed and left it vacant when business was closed. If
20 percent of the space was no longer needed, business owners
thought they were stuck with the space and so costs would
increase. Shared models invite collaboration. Vacant retail spaces
can be offered via marketplaces like Storefront and office spaces
can be provided to services like Breather or turned into a permanent co-working space like WeWork where many individuals share
one space through a membership model, similar to joining a gym.
P: Within the spa and hospitality industry, how do you
think the concept of “sharing economy” can be implemented?
G: That’s a great question. Except for being an “obsessive” spa
customer, I am not an expert in that business. So, at the risk of
being presumptuous, I would suggest that there are three areas to
look and explore:
1. real estate,
2. products,
3. specialty equipment.
One of the main things to consider in the shift to sharing is
that the “crowd” is an asset that was virtually untapped in old
business models. This means that people who today don’t work
for you and are not your customer may provide your business
with enormous value. For example, with respect to real estate, if
you own and operate a spa today, a significant amount of your
cost is the physical space. If it was possible to “rent” access to
spaces when they were unused, would that be of interest? If you
could access other spaces that you don’t own or lease during peak
times rather than lease for peak all the time, would that significantly change your profits?
P: Can you give a case study of companies or organizations successfully implementing “sharing” into their
businesses?
G: The Waffle House may not seem like a likely candidate for a
sharing business, but they recently launched an innovative partnership with a peer-to-peer delivery company called Roadie.
Roadie customers as well as its delivery team needed convenient
places to pick up and drop off packages. The Waffle House has
1,750 locations around the U.S. Earlier this year, the two companies announced a partnership. This example gives a good sense
of how a traditional business and sharing business can easily
create a partnership to explore opportunities while driving more
value, visibility and sales for its current business. ■
FOR MORE case studies, including links
to research that support the idea of a
growing sharing economy, click here.
FACTORS DRIVING THE
SHARING ECONOMY
According to Gansky, there are factors that help set the stage for what is
happening and why the sharing economy model is rapidly growing.
Global urban population “Since 2010 more people reside in
cities. Cities are dense with people, movement and experiences.
This has made ‘sharing’ physically convenient and compelling.”
Technology “Mobile phones with GPS and the Web, sensors and
data make finding each other and things inexpensive and easy. This
pervasive technology has made ‘sharing’ easy, compelling and often
more powerful than owning.”
Waste “Waste is expensive. As each of our community members
or business partners allows access to his or her excess capacity
(e.g., idle cars, bikes, homes, storage space, factories, team
members and more), these ‘assets’ become part of an active
marketplace.”
Climate change “Climate change has caused us as individuals
and businesses to reconsider how we consume and the volume of
waste that we create.”
Community challenges “People are turning to each other to
solve some of our communities and the world’s biggest challenges.
Peer-to-peer connections have created many marketplaces like
Etsy, RelayRides, TransferWise, swapstyle, Prestiamoci and many
others,” Gansky says.“We are at the very beginning of our abili