Along side with the collaborative consomption, come new economic perspectives in a context where production fails to find destinations. Beyond its business virtues, some see the possibility of a new organization of an environmental friendly and fairer society. Collaborative consumption could be the new barrier to individualist liberalism and immoral capitalism. Yes or no, is collaborative consumption the sign of the end of the world as we know it ?

1. __
__
VIEWS ON
COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION
A Presentation based on the dissertation La location entre particuliers ou la remise en cause d’un modèle de consommation fondé
sur la propriété - Alexandra Penel - Master Information & Communication - CELSA-Paris IV - July 2014

2. Collaborative consumption may frighten brands
as it seems to radically question the model
of our society.

3. It is said to point out “the slow down of
today’s global economic model”
Tout se loue sur Internet, mais à quel prix - Le Figaro - 09.02.2012

4. Of which it would initiate the end :
“It is not a crisis, it is a world change.”
Michel Serres

5. Companies would lose their power :
”a lifestyle that puts the economic initiative
into the hands of civil society.“
La révolution du partage - Le Monde - 20.09.2013

6. And Brands would be losing their sex appeal :
“We are looking for functionality”
Question de choix - France Info - 20.12.2013

7. On the other hand, it might also be seen as
a solution to the reduction in purchasing power.

8. To environmental damage :
“Collaborative consumption comes
alongside sustainable consumption”
Kiwizz

9. Even to the immorality of our system:
“Collaborative practices illustrate the birth of
a world where help replaces selfishness.”
La révolution du partage - Le Monde - 20.09.2013

10. Maybe because it would bring back together
our capitalist system with socialist values.

11. “Perhaps what is the most exciting about
Collaborative Consumption is that it fulfills
both the hardened expectations on both sides of
the socialist and capitalist ideological spectrum
without being an ideology in itself.”
What is mine is yours - Rachel Botsman & Roo Rogers

12. Whether it seduces or frightens,
collaborative consumption is everyone’s concern,
as it seems to disrupt the world we all know.

13. How far does
collaborative consumption
create a new society model?

14. Collaborative consumption has no limits,
and can be found in all categories.

15. Therefore it presents itself as an evolution
of the hyper-consumption system.

16. The end of hyper-consumption?

17. “We are not
always happy to hyper-consume“
The Age of Acces - Jeremy Rifkin

18. Collaborative
consumption would be
a way to “continue hyper-consumming”
L’avènement de la consommation collaborative
- Edouard Dumortier

19. Whereas “hyper-consumption” is ambiguous,
“purchasing power” brings everyone together.
Source : Igobono - 2014

20. Therefore, collaborative consumption is a next step to a
model based on abundance and mass-consumption.

21. SHARE
The difference is it boasts
moral values which today’s system would lack.

23. The end of ownership and
the birth of the sharing era ?

24. Let’s take the example of peer-to-peer renting,
which seems to question ownership the most.
Redistibution market
Product service systemCollaborative lifestyle
What is mine is yours - Rachel Botsman & Roo Rogers

25. Even if “owner” has disappeared from
the vocabulary of brands like Airbnb (which has
replaced it by « host »), ownership remains at the heart
of peer-to-peer rental services.
Insurance system
Guaranty
Safety technologies

26. Peer-to-peer renting remains a
trade exchange between 2 parties,
secured by a third party.
Start-up
$
Location
Start-up

27. This model, where ownership remains dominant,
also applies to other collaborative activities.
Second hand market
Owner
Buyer
Crowdfunding
Swapping
Idea owner
Supporter
Owner
Owner

28. Ownership is questioned for only one side
of the trading exchange: the consumer,
who no longer needs to own in order to use.

29. For the owner, the goal is to make
objects more profitable by extending their usage
through renting, reselling, swapping…

30. Collaborative consumption is thus not
a sharing of our goods,
but the monetization of ownership.

31. This explains the misunderstanding
on the word « share » :
be it trough swapping, reselling,
renting, crowd funding or crowd sourcing,
what is mine is actually never yours.

32. Rather than a model revolution,
collaborative consumption is
an evolution in the means of access.

33. Alongside these new access possibilities,
arbitrations are becoming more and more sophisticated
and consumers more and more experts.

34. We might think that these arbitrations are made
between the rational and the emotional.

35. “We are looking for functionality”1
“Optimise resources”2
“You can save concrete and
immediate money“3
“The need for
convenience”4
Brand preference
Pleasure buying
Investment
Sources : 1Question de choix - France Info - 20.12.2013, 2Je loue ta voiture, tu loues mon costume, on sauve la planète - Rue
89 Le Nouvelobs - 18.08.2011, 3 site Sharewizz, 4 site Zilok

36. CONVENIENCE
UTILITY
PRICE
QUALITY
PLEASURE
STATUS

37. SMART
CONSUMPTION
PLAISIR
INDULGENCE
CONSUMPTION

38. Yet collaborative
consumption
intensifies the needs
for quality and service.

39. Because it makes the
access to brands
considered as more
qualitative
than low-cost offers
easier.
“it gives you the opportunity to have
access to some things that you
wouldn’t have bought.”
“Good value for money”
“For occasional works, a handyman
won’t invest in high performance tools
because of the price. Yet the
difference on usage and results
between a 15€ and a 100€ grinder at
is real. Peer-to-peer renting helps to
avoid that.“
Source : qualitative group organized in April 2013, and exchange with peer-to-peer renters.

40. And because the
peer-to-peer process
requires a high level of
service to secure the
exchange.
“There is a certain amount of bother.”
“The fact that it’s between individuals
is rather a handicap because there is a
risk on quality.”
“you need a trusted third party”
Source : qualitative group organized in April 2013, and exchange with peer-to-peer renters.

41. Rather than the search for the lowest price
or the sign of disenchantment about brands,
collaborative practices are seen as
an affordable way to have access to quality.

42. In this way, collaborative consumption
probably threatens low-cost products
more than premium brands.

43. Des arbitrages de
Utility did not kill
emotional and
status needs.
plus en plus
conscients et
sophistiqués.

44. Because collaborative
technologies are
valorising and benefit
from a more modern,
embodied, social and
environmental image.
Des arbitrages de
plus en plus
conscients et
sophistiqués.
“A better consumption model
for society”
“an activist practice”
Source : qualitative group organized in April 2013, and exchange with peer-to-peer renters.

45. Because these
solutions reveal our
emotional relationship
Des arbitrages de
plus en plus
conscients et
sophistiqués.
to some objects,
rather than
questioning it.
“Me, I’d rather have an affordable
dress, from Zara or H&M,
but my own one.“
“I like to keep my books, but my man
buys books and then throw them
away.”
“Some people have a convenient
relation to their cars. And for others
it is status.”
Source : qualitative group organized in April 2013, and exchange with peer-to-peer renters.

46. Beyond a purely rational usage,
our consumption choices remain a way to
express status and reveal our relationship to
objects.

47. In the end, collaborative practices don’t create
«anti-consumers» who hate brands,
but expert consumers, empowered by a diversity of
solutions to satisfy their needs for quality and status.

48. Collaborative consumption is
neither the end of capitalism and ownership,
nor the end of a model based on consumption,
nor the birth of a doubting consumer.

49. On the contrary, we can see it as the generalization of
trade at the scale of individual, a society of hyper
liberalism where every owner can be a business man
and where capitalism has entered our sellers.

50. Which means, far from being a threat,
it is an opportunity for the established brands.

51. 1Secure peer-to-peer exc
hanges

52. 1
It means
to offer platforms which make peer-to-peer exchanges
easier and which will ensure the quality of both
deal and exchanged good.

53. Like Trocathlon that allows to sell and buy second-hand
goods at Decathlon, France’s leading sports retailer.

54. Or indirectly, Habitat vintage which buys and sells
old second hand furniture of its brand.

55. Widen2 the user target, beyond t
he buyer target.

56. 2
It means
to offer not only the purchase,
but also the renting of the stocks.

57. DriveNow and the ability to rent a
varied fleet of BMW cars in German cities.

58. Sh3are the conception of your
projects

59. 3It means
switch from “client” to “shareholder”.

60. By offering to anyone the opportunity
to finance a project.

61. Or by simply using the existing crowd sourcing
platforms, like Popularise or Quirky to fund future
projects and products.

62. M4ake your network more pr
ofitable
by creating services for the collaborative economy.

63. 4
It means
to provide spaces in your network,
where people could exchange, which is a way to deliver
a new service, while driving new traffic to your store.

64. When will it be possible to withdraw or deliver
swapped, rented, or second-hand products at your Post
office, your usual retailer, or your newspaper seller?

65. 5Widen your brand experi
ence
to new services.

66. 5
It means
offering added services, next to purchase,
and offering a global solution to your customers.

67. For example, when will it be possible to rent
a steam stripper or a sander at Ikea ?

68. These are only 5 applications
among a lot of future models …