Australia’s first Sharing Economy Monitor released by Airtasker
Measured by local market research firm Pureprofile, the monitor has revealed that just under half of the population (44.8 per cent) are aware of the companies driving the movement, including AirBnB, Uber and Airtasker.
It also found that approximately 16 per cent of the Australian population have engaged in a sharing economy transaction and that 6.7 per cent of the population have used the sharing economy to earn extra income.
“The figures are incredibly important given the ongoing, national debate around the sharing economy movement in Australia,” Airtasker CEO Tim Fung said.
“We have found that more and more everyday Australians are turning to our platform to get more done as attitudes towards getting tasks completed by local workers evolve.
“Time-poor working Australians are now buying themselves time, using Airtasker workers to do everything from everyday tasks like house cleaning to intensive chores like assembling IKEA furniture or moving house.
“Meanwhile, workers are turning to Airtasker to choose their own work and capitalise on the increased flexibility that comes with working in the sharing economy. In the past six months, they have earned millions by completing tasks alone.”
The sharing economy trend is less than a decade old but has seen rapid growth around the world.
For the sake of overseas comparison, the local research harnessed the same methodology as earlier US-focused research from global consultancy firm Pricewaterhousecoopers.
PwC’s research found that roughly 44 per cent of US consumers are aware of the sharing economy and 19 per cent of the US population have engaged in a sharing economy transaction.
Uber was founded in San Francisco in 2009. AirBnB was founded in San Fransisco in 2009. Both companies officially launched in Australia in 2012.
Recent media reports say there are 15,000 drivers on Uber and AirBnB offers 40,000 rooms on its service across Australia.
“Businesses and policy makers need to recognise the growth, potential and the opportunity brought on by this trend,” Mr Fung said.
“Our own internal data reveals that the sharing economy is gaining momentum. For example, over 100,000 Australians have joined the Airtasker community over the past six months.”
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