Brands x Consumers

Brands should pay attention to Collaborative Consumption, a movement promoting a cultural shift towards “sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping.”

A new book — What's Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, due out in September — takes a look at the new, disruptive business models entering the marketplace.

Brands are already incorporating “peer-to-peer” exchange, from established sites such as eBay and Craigslist, to rising brands such as Zopa, Swaptree, and Zipcar. People are changing what and how they consume goods and services, largely enabled by online and wireless technology.

Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers are the duo espousing this philosophy. Botsman consults, writes, and speaks on the power of collaboration and sharing through current and emerging peer-to-peer technologies. Rogers is currently the director of Redscout Ventures and a serial entrepreneur with five successful startups currently in the marketplace.

Their website offers resources, actionable tools, and an invitation to, of course, participate. It's filled with insights such as, “People are already using the principles and dynamics of Collaborative Consumption— organized sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting and swapping through online and real-world communities — to get the same fulfillment and benefits of ownership with reduced personal burden and cost and as well as lower environmental impact.”

Thoughts on brands fostering collaboration and coopetition (vs. competition)? Post a comment below!