Platform provider revenues for sharing economy forecast to double in 2022: Juniper Research

The move by established sectors to press their first-mover advantage looks poised to push growth in the sharing economy much higher over the next five years, reaching US$40.2 billion in 2022, notes a new research report released Monday by U.K.-based Juniper Research.

Sharing Economy: Opportunities, Impacts & Disruptors 2017-2022, predicts that sharing economy-related platform provider revenues will rise to US$40.2 billion in 2022. That more than doubles the 2017 figure of US$18.6 billion, notes a statement from the research and analytical services company.

The report – which analyzes the major drivers and disruptive factors set to influence and impact more traditional markets moving forward – provides an assessment of the core sectors of this industry, including shared transport, space, services, money (crowdfunding), logistics, manufacturing, agriculture and B2B services. Canada is included among the key global regions explored in the data and interactive forecast.

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The surge of growth in the sharing economy is anticipated as players in sectors like transport and space press their first mover advantage. “The space and transport sectors will continue to dominate the sharing industry,” Juniper Research points out.

Since the company’s earlier research, companies like Uber and Lyft “have seen much greater returns from driver operations than expected. The research noted that the proportion taken by these platforms is now around 30% per journey, as providers capitalize on an established driver network,” the statement notes.

And for shared space provider Airbnb, listings have grown from 2 million at the end of 2015 to an anticipated 3 million this year.

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Despite growth, pressure on companies like TaskRabbit – an online and mobile marketplace that matches freelance labour with local demand for home tasks like furniture assembly, TV mounting, moving help and more – in the shared services sector is increasing. “As more flexible start-ups and listing sites gain traction and, ultimately, market share,” Juniper Research expects.

Looking ahead, the study identifies sharing corporate space via platforms – which has developed rapidly and somewhat under the radar – as the next high-growth sector in the sharing economy.

There will be “entire floors of office blocks kitted out and primed for office sharing,” research author Lauren Foye suggests in the study.

Substantial investment is also under way in this area. Based on figures released to date, “consequently, Juniper found that the sector will deliver substantial returns of over $10 billion by 2022.”

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While the sharing economy is not a new concept, “digital formats, alongside the rapid expansion of the online ecosystem, have led to an exponential increase in the sharing of not just physical goods, but also skills and human resources.”