Gen X and Y Leading The Way to “Collaborative Consumption”

World News reported recently that new start ups by Gen X and Y are out to overthrow big business as rulers of the marketplace.

Today’s entrepreneurs are catering to a new generation that would rather share cars than own them, raise capital from peers instead of borrowing from banks and live in communities versus own their own homes.

The shift is towards ‘collaborative consumption’- think co-op care share companies such as Zipcar, Go2Car and Car Co-op where Gen X and Y would rather pay for something as they use it in ‘real’ time than own something and have the issues that go along with owning.

Gen Y don’t want the DVD they want the music, they don’t want the cars they want to get from A to B, as a generation they have a whole different attitude towards ownership.

Other hot companies embracing this trend are Zimride, Task Rabbit and Airbub which provide services such as car share, chores and sleeping rooms.

We are seeing a shift towards community and neighborhood that has been lost and people are wanting to feel a part of.

Gen X and Y are changing the way people live, work and consume.

What does this mean for you and your business? A few key questions to ask are:

– How can we as an organization provide benefits that appeal to collaborative consumption? such as ride services, groupon like services etc.

– How can we leverage the Gen X and Y’s desire for community to create hubs of activity within the workplace that foster collaboration and creativity? – think of games such that focus on building things

– How can we use the power of collaboration to get new ideas to market quickly based on input from the masses?

– How does collaborative consumption affect your industry- negatively or positively?

2012, promises to be a year of continued innovation and transformation- we have an

opportunity to look at how we can be a part of the ‘collaborative consumption’ wave.