A new report, The Emerging Collaborative Economy in Australia, produced by Vision Critical in partnership with Collaborative Lab and Nine! Rewards, reveals promising momentum and enthusiasm for collaborative economy platforms that use technology to enable people to share and exchange a variety of goods and services. There is already high penetration of brands in the space, with 61 percent of those surveyed aware of services such as Airbnb, Kickstarter, Uber and GoGet Car Share.
The growth and popularity of international startups Uber and Airbnb, which have 27 percent and 20 percent awareness respectively, is impressive considering their presence in the Australian market is less than three years old, and they spend very little on traditional forms of advertising and marketing.
What’s more — 53 percent of respondents said they had participated in some form of collaborative economy activity in the past year, though these exchanges are often taking place informally between friends and family without the use of technology.
“Tech-enabled collaborative economy marketplaces in the US and UK are typically one to two years ahead of the Australian market, however this is changing,” says Rachel Botsman, author of What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption and founder of Collaborative Lab. “This study reveals that Australians are open to ideas that offer new ways of consuming goods and services and the intent to share is increasing even if it is driven by practical considerations such as convenience and price.”
Peter Harris, managing director, Australia and New Zealand at Vision Critical, a cloud-based customer intelligence platform company, said: “This study clearly shows how commerce is changing — impacting the customers’ decision-making and how they expect to engage with brands. It underlines the importance of brands maintaining direct conversations with their customers.”
The Emerging Collaborative Economy In Australia — Key Highlights:
- 14 percent of respondents have heard of the term ‘collaborative economy.’
- 43 percent relate to or understand collaborative economy behaviors such as carpooling, house swapping, crowdfunding, carsharing and coworking.
- 61 percent awareness of collaborative economy services in Australia; Uber has 27 percent awareness, Airbnb has 20 percent awareness.
- 53 percent of respondents have participated in some form of collaborative economy in the last year.
- 63 percent plan on participating in some form of collaborative economy activity in the near future; 36 percent of this number interested in trying transport related services and 36 percent in accommodation.
In February, Crowd Companies founder Jeremiah Owyang posted a list of over 70 mainstream companies that have harnessed Collaborative Economy tactics to supplement their business strategy of innovation. And in March, Crowd Companies and Vision Critical released a report that for the first time mapped the size and characteristics of the collaborative movement — as this new report indicates, both have continued to grow.
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Published Oct 17, 2014 5pm EDT / 2pm PDT / 10pm BST / 11pm CEST