Peer-to-peer sharing

Think about the car or bicycle sitting idle in your garage at home. What about the camping gear you used only once or twice. Now think about leveraging those unused items to earn thousands of rupees a month. Welcome to the share economy, in which people around the world are leveraging the unused capacity of things they already own. According to a Nielsen report, 'Is Sharing the New Buying?', of more than 30,000 internet respondents in 60 countries, more than two-thirds are willing to share their personal assets for financial gain. Respondents in Asia-Pacific are most receptive to the idea, with the highest percentage willing to share their own goods (78 per cent).

So what does this mean for marketers? The consumer rental market is worth an estimated $26 billion, according to Rachel Botsman, a global thought leader on the power of sharing through digital technologies. A down economy has given rise to entrepreneurs who are turning personal assets into income. And companies like Avis Budget Group, which paid $500 million for car-sharing service Zipcar this year, and the Home Depot, which rents products in about half of its stores, are getting in on the action. There is huge opportunity in this space but cornerstone of success, says the Nielsen report, is built on a foundation of trust-the currency must for this business.