Me-commerce to We-commerce, explains e-commerce power shift

© Mitar Gavric – 123RF.com

The smartphone is allowing consumers to take charge of aspects of business that seemed untouchable. Apps allow us to rent cars (or rent them to others), share holiday homes and transact safely. Industries that had remained unchanged for centuries now compete against a hive of small players, enabled by big platforms.

Who will the new big players be?

Online trade, from the comfort of your home, is the perfect model for the current economic climate. Those who have assets can leverage them by renting it out or selling unused assets, while consumers with limited means gain access to assets they haven't been able to afford before, by buying second hand items or swopping items.

The barriers to entry such as safety are diminishing. Partly because customers are becoming smarter at spotting scams, partly because as they keep transacting safely and successfully online, customers see the platform as more trusted. In addition, partly because peer-to-peer trade is a low context sales environment. If you want to buy a new sofa, you do not care who is selling it to you. Users are happy to forgo complex registration and ratings in favour of quick transacting.

Consumers would do well to start acquainting them with the possibilities while it is free and accessible to do so. (The benefit of web-based trade it is that is not time or location-based, making it easy to dabble). Businesses, on the other hand, should explore ways of collaborating with the platforms that provide the venue for these entrepreneurs to flourish - not only to tap into potential new sources of revenue, but also to explore ways and means of creating a new business model flexible enough to adapt to the rapid adoption of this trend.