How the Sharing Economy Could Hurt Retailers

Younger generations, less interested in ownership and less able to attain it, have grown comfortable with sharing products, services and experiences with strangers, notes the just-released “The 2030 Forecast”by Ogilvy Consultants. “Businesses can meet this growing need by rethinking the basic contract between customer and company,” which would have a major impact on retailers and the way they do business, the report notes.

Four consumer markets most likely to evolve toward shared or subscription services by 2030 are appliances, furniture, hardware, and consumer electronics, Olgivy says.

“Think of it as a manufacturer-to-consumer-to-consumer supply chain. This will come at the expense of retailers and resellers, unless they too are able to reinvent their roles as facilitators of an efficient ecosystem, not intermediaries there to take a cut.”

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