Unbundling The Travel Bundle

The sharing economy is undergoing a sea change due to Generation Z’s coming of age. Experts expect this generation, which heavily favors the sharing and gig economies, to account for 40 percent of all global shoppers by the end of 2020.

Businesses are struggling to balance the needs of established shoppers, who expect payment perks and rewards programs, and younger customers that prefer instant satisfaction with their shopping experiences. Another hair in the soup is Generation Z’s increasing preference toward social media marketplaces that eschew established eCommerce platforms entirely, forcing these businesses to change tactics.

In the latest Payments And The Platform Economy Playbook, PYMNTS takes a closer look at how buyer payments and seller payouts are changing as the sharing economy grows.

Recent Developments In The Platform Economy

eBay is planning to eliminate fees on high-end sneakers in North America in an attempt to hone its competitive edge against other sneaker marketplaces such as GOAT and StockX. The fee elimination will affect all sneakers resold for more than $100. eBay is further looking to compete with other sneaker storefronts via direct partnerships with several sneaker brands.

Ridesharing giant Uber is also exploring new ways to expand its market footprint. The company recently opened a gig marketplace in Miami called Uber Works to connect employers and employees using the same star-based rating system for its ridesharing app. The marketplace originally launched in Chicago two months before its Miami expansion.

Uber may be facing significant operational changes in California, however, due to a new law that reclassifies many contractors as employees. The new law was hailed by labor groups but came under fire from Uber, Lyft and other gig economy companies. The law was originally passed in September 2019 but went into effect on Jan. 1.

To learn more about these and other stories, visit the Playbook’s News & Trends section.

Why Dividing Reservations Can Aid Hotels And Travel Services

Hotels, airlines and other travel companies are facing fierce competition to attract potential customers, and nearly all of them are offering mobile payment options and rewards programs to entice them. But these offerings are often not enough to encourage customers away from booking aggregators, forcing these providers to lean on different tactics to get ahead. Eran Shust, co-founder and CEO of travel platform Splitty, recently talked to PYMNTS about why breaking up reservations to meet customers’ needs may be key to get them away from the competition.

To learn more about the advantages of dividing travel reservations, visit the Playbook’s Feature Story.

How AI Can Help With Consumer Onboarding Security

Synthetic identities are a growing menace to merchants’ risk detection systems, with fraudsters creating false listings and customer profiles on sharing platforms to siphon away money and personal information. Artificial intelligence could be crucial for making consumer onboarding more secure on sharing platforms, and could also reduce overall fraud levels and stop data breaches in their tracks.

To learn more about how AI security enhancements can improve the platform economy, visit the Playbook’s Case Study.

About the Playbook

The monthly Payments And The Platform Economy Playbook, a PYMNTS and Yapstone collaboration, aims to help platform payment decision-makers identify and manage the risks and rewards inherent in optimizing their operations and navigating real-time challenges.