Who shares? Profiling consumers in the sharing economy

Sharing platforms are becoming increasingly common, transforming how organisations and customers interact across diverse categories. While there is clear demand for the sharing economy, less is known about heterogeneity of consumer preferences and the varying demand that exists for sharing experiences across different categories of consumption. In order to help brands better understand who shares, this research takes a step forward in the profiling of users of the sharing economy. Drawing on social psychology, this research investigates how social norms can be employed as a form of social influence and nudge consumers to engage in higher levels of shared consumption. We find three clear segments of sharing consumers, representing 86% of all consumers: the mobility-focused sharer, the diverse-platform sharer, and the power-platform sharer. The last segment (accounting for 14%) comprises consumers who do not engage with sharing platforms. Moreover, social norms influenced the future behaviours of only one segment of consumers: the diverse-platform sharer. We discuss how sharing platform providers can better understand, target, and convert consumers to engage in sharing.