The Internet ensures that supply and demand come together in an easy way and that the costs of sharing and trading with each other are minimized. There are different names for this new trend: P2P sharing (peer-to-peer), collaborative consumption or rental economy. It is part of a broader P2P market that can be divided into three segments:
P2P-commerce : online marketplaces where peers can offer and buy their goods. The best-known example in list to data the Netherlands is Marktplaats.nl .
P2P microjobs : supply and demand for services and labor are brought together. Peers advertise on online marketplaces to get in touch with other peers who can fulfill this need. Examples of this are Taskrabbit.com and Peopleperhour.com .
P2P sharing : owners use online marketplaces where they exploit the undercapacity of their products by renting them out to others. A well-known example of this is Airbnb.
3 types of p2p markets including the 'sharing economy'
P2P sharing is still relatively new and promises to have a big impact on traditional markets. Forbes estimates that its revenue in 2012 would be over $3.5 billion, with a growth rate of 25 percent per year. Airbnb is probably the best-known and most successful example, but in recent years hundreds of companies have been founded based on this new digital trend.