In a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, the links between business and the digital economy are examined. In particular, the research is looked at how it has impacted the emergence of the sharing economy. Of the 4,787 American adults who participated in this study, a whopping 72 percent were found to have been users of at least one of the 11 different “shared and on-demand services”, with one-in-five using four or more of these services, and 7 percent having used six or more of these apps. Though 28 percent of those surveyed said that they had never used any of the apps, the overwhelming majority were found to be frequent users of these apps. College graduates and those whose household income exceeds $100,000 a year are also most likely to use these apps, though user engagement begins to drop off with users older than 45. So what kinds of apps were users mostly utilizing? As it turns out, crowdfunding sites are the most popular products of the new digital economy, with ride-hailing and home-sharing apps following. In fact, around one-fifth of those surveyed were found to have used crowdfunding sites. However, there was some disparity between men and women who contribute to these crowdfunding sites – “women are more likely to contribute to help someone in need, while men are more likely to fund new products or inventions”. So how can this information best help businesses? Understanding what users are gravitating towards will better help businesses, established or emerging, better understand how to market themselves in an ever-evolving economy.
