We can definitely say that electric scooters were the biggest gig economy trend of 2018. The roll out in US cities in the early spring, and the conquering of EU in the late summer, was the big talk of the (world) town. Now, just like Uber and Grab, the e-scooters startups will have to reach an agreement with city authorities on how to regulate the release and use of scooters in the streets. With these companies expanding to new markets and strengthening their hold on existing markets, we think that law regulation should be the focus of green transportation in 2019.
We can definitely say that electric scooters were the biggest gig economy trend of 2018. The roll out in US cities in the early spring, and the conquering of EU in the late summer, was the big talk of the (world) town. Now, just like Uber and Grab, the e-scooters startups will have to reach an agreement with city authorities on how to regulate the release and use of scooters in the streets. With these companies expanding to new markets and strengthening their hold on existing markets, we think that law regulation should be the focus of green transportation in 2019.
Since 2019 is around the corner, we thought it is time to share some thoughts on what we think will be big in the upcoming year!
We have all heard about the UN’s most recent climate change report, that describes a high risk of an environmental crisis as early as 2040. This report might make the green transport trend, already on the way, even more popular.
Ride hailing and ride sharing companies are the most successful example of the gig economy, but some say they worsened traffic congestion and pollution in urban agglomerations. Perhaps this is why a strong reaction, and a certain amelioration, came from the e-scooters startups all around the world. In 2018, companies like Lime and Bird, that offer electric scooters and bikes as a green alternative to transportation in cities, took the spotlight. Our bet is that the trend will only rise. Don’t be surprised if other companies tap into this piece of pie or that new companies pop up with the goal of conquering untapped markets.
New technologies have always been the focus of the gig economy. Just think of how Artificial Intelligence helps platforms match the best workers with the best tasks for them; or how drivers are dispatched to high demand areas via an algorithm, and finally how most of the gig economy job opportunities happen via an app, from registration to actual earning.
It is thus certain that gig economy companies will keep on investing in and be relying on new technologies to perfect their services, both toward clients and towards earners. We expect to see even more sophisticated chatbots and algorithms that will help companies become more efficient. We also believe Virtual Reality will make teams work more effortlessly, with remote or freelancer team members being able to interact more efficiently with in-office employees.
We finally expect that blockchain technology will be used for remote working and micro tasks managing. Imagine being able to secure in all security user data, invoice transactions and apply the benefits of the crypto-economy to your business! The easier and more secure having a business will be, the more businesses will develop.
That is why we believe that new opportunities for self employed entrepreneurs will come up. With the plethora of platforms out there, like Freelancer, PeoplePerHour or Fiverr, startups or solo entrepreneurs can easily outsource remote tasks like content creation, marketing, web developing, accounting and more. Expensive projects like creating a logo or a video ad, or time consuming tasks like managing a social media content calendar, can be now done faster than ever and with little budget spending involved.
Growing a scalable business will, thus, be even more facilitated in the coming year.
Finally, moving from startups to affirmed businesses.
Established companies with more traditional business models will probably jump on the wagon of the gig economy in order to improve their services. For example, Ikea has already taken the leap by buying TaskRabbit, which offers furniture assembly services. In this way they will be able to implement the furniture assembly as a customer service feature. The gig economy is all about finding new ways of doing things, or enabling smart solutions to come to life. Sometimes, big companies find it hard to develop such solutions, but have the money necessary to buy the ready made product and optimise it in their business model.
It is certain that more companies will follow.
Lastly, we should expect some surprises! Who would have thought that the electric scooter would be a thing this year? You never know what new ideas will come up and, as the gig economy is scaling up, more and more services that had never crossed our minds will upgrade our life. Who knows? You might be able to rent a cat by the hour to help you ease your stress by the end of next year!