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Shared Economics and the Millennial Generation

By Daniela Muñoz - ioio
CEO

STORY INLINE POST

By Daniela Muñoz | CEO - Mon, 11/28/2022 - 11:00

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Currently, it is common to think about  the possibility of renting almost anything as an option to access different products and services, among which digital platforms with millions of users around the world, such as Uber and Airbnb, stand out. These  were born from the hand of millennials, a generation characterized among other  things by spearheading technological innovation and above all, promoting social change in favor of inclusion. This broke   the paradigms that previous generations left as part of the status quo, where the only way to experiment around an article was to acquire it, an economic dynamic that has caused a great negative impact on the economies of underdeveloped countries, and especially in environmental terms.

One of the main drivers of these changes was the marked difference in the macroeconomic environment in which we live compared to previous generations, such as Generation X and baby boomers, for whom the possibility of acquiring real estate was much more latent and allowed different living conditions to be had. This situation changed years later due to different economic crises and financial challenges, which has left an environment of uncertainty in which the only way to ensure the future is by modifying the present, being more aware of the impact of our actions to a greater and lesser extent and on all scales.

Within the context of shared economics, the concept of circular economy was also born, a proposal that seeks not only to provide access to goods and services to people who do not have the necessary resources, but also to reduce the environmental impact that previous consumption trends had generated. This reduces the carbon footprint in terms of production and, above all, encourages the reuse of resources, giving new life to thousands of articles that were generally doomed to become waste and, consequently, contamination, a factor that increases even more when we consider all technological waste, especially batteries as the main pollutant.

In this sense, we have seen the "second hand" industry have a breakthrough, since it is presented as a sustainable option where people can rotate not only their wardrobe but also technological items, tools and daily use products that usually are replaced annually within the current dynamics of innovation in which we have been involved. This is precisely how new options for access to all of the above are born. In the same way that Uber showed us that it was not necessary to purchase a vehicle to be able to have a comfortable mobility option and Airbnb showed us that we could “have” a house anywhere in the world, innovation platforms are born in the segment of "rental places" such as ioio, a platform dedicated to the purchase, sale, but above all to the rental of various items. Such platforms allow the option of, on the one hand, generating extra income with items that spend a large part of their useful life stored in a drawer, thus activating goods that until now did not generate any profit and, on the other hand, allowing thousands of people to access products that they would only have been able to use by acquiring it.

And speaking of "rental places," that is defined as the future of shared economies since on platforms like ioio not only are articles published but there is also the possibility of "renting" or offering your professional services, which opens up a world of possibilities. collaboration on projects, access to new client catalogs and, above all, being able to count on thousands of professionals who are just a click away. The aforementioned is exponential and in line with the trends in the use of technology that emerged from the  pandemic, making it possible for us to receive remote medical consultations, psychological therapies and financial advice. All this in addition to accelerated adoption of digital platforms and online purchasing options online demonstrates   the great possibility for exponential growth.

Platforms such as the one mentioned above speak to us of a technological trend that not only seeks acceleration in technological development but also the interest placed on, through software, being able to generate new ways of social transformation created by a generation that no longer only seeks individual welfare but rather seeks to create new collective solutions with far-reaching impacts.

All of the above invites companies and individuals to seek changes through their products and services that help expand possibilities within their environments and detect new needs among their audiences that go beyond consumer interests and respond to cultural tensions, while production standards are aligned to seek a business with much less environmental impact, with a contribution to the society in which it operates and, above all, with the possibility of creating a better future for all.

Photo by:   Daniela Muñoz

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