i3 - March/April 2017 - 26

daily activities," according to the Fed
report. "This could be particularly
valued by time-constrained households and women, who traditionally
undertake many of these activities for
their families."
Other studies reinforce the rapid
adoption of shared economy services.
CTA's report Consumer Perceptions
and Expectations for the Shared
Economy found that 91 percent of
adults in major U.S. markets are aware
of ridesharing and/or homesharing -
an extraordinarily high awareness
for relatively young services. CTA's
report identified that consumers
recognize major benefits as greater
competition, income-earning opportunities and the options to weigh ownership versus access.
Most significantly, 43 percent of
respondents who used sharing services perceive them as "a good value for
the money" compared to nine percent
who believe that "traditional" methods
are a good value (32 percent said
that "good value" applies equally to
both approaches).
The Pew Research Center has identified a "small but active group of
'super users'" who are plugged into
six to 12 of the evolving on-demand
online offerings, including clothing
rentals, short-term shared office space,
grocery delivery and online purchases
of handmade or artisanal products in
addition to ride- and homesharing.
About seven percent of Americans fall
into this "super user" cluster, Pew says.
"Most notably," the Pew study says,
"they run counter to the common
assumption that men are always the
first to use new technologies."

CTA SHARING
ECONOMY REPORT
IDENTIFIES HIGH
SATISFACTION
LEVELS

CTA's new Disruptive
Innovation Council,
which includes
developers of shared
economy services,
is encouraging
technologies and
services that are
"disrupting traditional
business models and
creating new markets."
In addition to its
advocacy role, the
Council is supporting
market research in this
emerging category.
CTA's recent study
Consumer Perceptions
and Expectations for
the Shared Economy
provides insights
into consumers'
views on ridesharing
and homesharing.
HOMESHARING

65

percent of people
who use homesharing
services say that "price"
was the major factor contributing to satisfaction

"Our survey found that 62 percent of these super users are
female," Pew says. Moreover, Pew found that among the super
users, "technological advances of the shared and on-demand
economy seem to supplement - rather than replace - sharing
behaviors in the traditional, informal sense of the word."

B

EYOND TRAVEL: MOM TECH

Increasingly, the sharing economy
involves app- and platform-based
services that offer digital alternatives to traditional methods for
finding a plumber, a wedding
planner or a personal health provider. Since so many apps include
functions such as cleaning, meal
preparation and home handiwork that millennials expected when they lived at home,
the category is sometimes called "mom tech." Other
ventures often lumped into the "sharing" category look
more like digital versions of established local services but
without needing a friend or neighbor's recommendation.
For example, Care.com, which calls itself "the world's
largest online marketplace for finding and managing
family care," matches families with caregivers who
can handle child care, senior care, pet care, short- and
long-term home health assistance and other services.
The 10-year-old company operates in 18 countries, supplying 9.1 million caregivers on a short-term basis to
nearly 12 million families.
Thumbtack lists 1,100 services its craftsmen can
provide, from furniture assembly, carpet installation
and TV mounting to Yoga instruction, strength training,
massage therapy, meditation instruction and wedding
planning. It allows potential customers to use an app
to describe the service needed then receive up to five
custom quotes. Then even payment arrangements are
completed through the app.
Similarly, TaskRabbit, which uses the slogan "Revolutionizing Everyday Work," lists among its achievements
"10,000 hours waiting in line so you don't have to" and
"350,000 hours running local errands." Hello Alfred,
founded in 2013, sends a "personal butler" to members'
homes each week to perform on-demand and local errands.

ECONOMY SERVICES: FINDING WHAT WORKS
Like many disruptive technologies,
sharing economy services have faced
growing pains. Nearly a decade ago,
neighborhood sharing ventures based
on apps rather than a note pinned to
a community bulletin board began
popping up. Backed by rhetoric such as
"Everyone owns a power drill but uses it
only about 15 minutes in its entire lifetime,"
startups looked for ways to spread out
usage. As the names "Share Some Sugar,"
"Neighborhood Goods" and "Thingloop"

26

MARCH/APRIL 2017

suggest, the high-minded concepts
attempted to maximize ultra-local sharing.
Several services found that the
number of residents who were willing
to lend out their tools far exceeded
the number of neighbors who were willing to pay to use them. Analysts concluded that the most successful ventures
(so far, at least) were ones that matched
bigger needs and didn't require follow-on
efforts, such a bringing back a power
tool after you're done using it.

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N
http://www.cta.tech/research http://www.cta.tech/research http://www.Care.com http://www.cta.tech/research http://thumbtack.com http://www.taskrabbit.com
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