In a global and technologically advanced world reeling from a hard-hitting recession that left in
its wake a high rate of home foreclosures, major budget deficits, and unemployment numbers
hovering around 10 percent, people are now forced to take a new approach in choosing how to spend their money. Gone are the days of “buy, buy, buy,” where consumers, in a never-ending drive to accumulate, end up literally buried in stuff. Instead, over the past few years (although its roots predate the recent recession), a new trend is now taking shape with people turning to shared resources in their everyday consumption practices.
Collaborative consumption refers to the cultural and economic redefinition of models of sharing, swapping, bartering, trading, and renting. The feasibility of this type of shared economic system is rooted in the technological advances that define this global age, and enable readily accessible social media and peer-to-peer online platforms. With the advent of Facebook, eBay, etc., consumers are now comfortable trading information within a variety of online forums, which is evolving into mainstream avenues that allow them to share so much more.
The growing trend of collaborative consumption has many strong proponents who have defined and expanded upon this movement. In 2007, UK strategic marketer, Ray Algar, identified collaborative consumerism as a “phenomenon that is sweeping the globe.” He cited trends such as “consumers collaborat[ing] online to exchange goods and services through websites such as EBay and GumTree, [that] they share hospitality experiences through Trip Advisor…and pool their collective purchasing power...(fractional ownership).” Algar sums up the trend as follows: “Collaborating to leverage discounts and incentives is an inevitable reality of ‘connected living.’ Individuals are learning that it is better to be part of a crowd and the crowd is fast becoming very wise.”
Where collaborative consumption has found its biggest advocates are in author and social innovator Rachel Botsman, and entrepreneur Roo Rogers, who co-authored a 2010 book exploring this economic trend entitled What’s Mine Is Yours, The Rise Of Collaborative Consumption. They have become the voices of collaborative consumption, establishing a website that shares resources, stories, and tools to fuel the development and spread of this economic movement. They describe the fundamentals of this movement as follows: “From enormous marketplaces such as eBay and Craigslist, to emerging sectors such as social lending (Zopa) and car sharing (Zipcar), Collaborative Consumption is disrupting outdated modes of business and reinventing not just what we consume but how we consume.” (“The Rise of Collaborative Consumption” 2010)
This rising trend of collaborative consumption recently made Time Magazine’s “The Top 10 Everything of 2010,” lauded as “one of the most heartening environmental trends.” As environmental reporter Bryan Walsh explains, “It’s green, but it also appeals to the desire for community [that] we all feel.”
Many businesses and organizations have sprung up around collaborative consumption models. Product service systems, in which people pay to gain access to products without outright ownership, have been around for a long time (think Laundromats and video rental stores). But now, they’ve taken it to an entirely new level. Companies like Netflix and Rhapsody allow consumers to buy access (not ownership) to videos and movies for a monthly fee. Another business, Chegg.com, has answered the age-old problem of the high cost of college textbooks, setting up a system by which students can rent those books over the Internet.
Another business model, central to the collaborative consumption movement, is the redistribution market in which pre-owned goods move from someone who doesn’t want them to someone who does. The most obvious virtual form of this is eBay. But nowadays, you can find virtual thrift stores and used bookstores all over the web. This model has been taken even further in marketplaces such as Swap.com, which allow consumers to connect, and trade books, CDs, DVDs, and video games. The site charges minimal transaction fees plus shipping, which is a great deal for those looking to get rid of media they’re no longer interested in and/or inexpensively add to their collection.
A third model is the system of collaborative lifestyles, which is based on the principle of sharing and exchanging resources and assets with others to the benefit of all. Businesses have evolved around this concept, such as Zipcar, which facilitates car sharing in urban areas, and Zimride, which connects commuters and travelers so they can share transportation costs. There are similar job sharing sites, space sharing sites (like storage and parking), and even sites that connect travelers with those looking to rent out a spare room for a short period of time.
Of course, all of these collaborative consumption models aren’t solely limited to the virtual world. Communal-based practices that reflect these business models are popping up in communities across the country. Instead of Tupperware parties, neighborhood women now have “Naked Lady” parties, where everyone cleans out their closets, hauls their loot to a host house, and then spends the evening trading clothes. Anything leftover is donated to a local Goodwill or other donor-dependent organization. Similarly, rather than paying for costly babysitting or childcare services, parents these days trade hours, alternately caring for each other’s children so that the other can work, run errands, go on a date with their spouse, or simply take a break. Rather than hosting expensive dinner parties, couples host potlucks, where everybody shares in the expense of the get together.
While there have long been pockets in our society committed to the principles of shared resources and communal living, recently these economic philosophies have become much more mainstream. With all the global opportunity afforded by internet technologies, collaborative consumption has become a convenient, cost-effective, and community-building way of navigating today’s marketplace.
Sources:
Algar, Ray, 2007. “Collaborative Consumption.” Leisure Report (April), Retrieved on January 13, 2011, from
http://www.oxygen-consulting.co.uk/docs/collaborative-consumption.pdf.
Botsman, Rachel, and Rogers, Roo, 2010. “What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption,”New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Walsh, Brian. 2010. “Top 10 Green Stories of 2010: Trend Alert! Collaborative Consumption.” Time Magazine
(December 9). Retrieved on January 14, 2011 from http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2035319_20340....
“The Rise of Collaborative Consumption,” 2010. Retrieved on January 12, 2011, from http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com/the-movement/.