Sharing economy revenues in Europe grew massively from 2013 to 2015, according to data from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). And as the sharing economy transitions from a niche economy to a mainstream one, yearly transaction value is surging, too.
Sharing economy revenues hit €1.0 billion ($1.1 billion) in 2013, and then rose to €1.8 billion ($2.0 billion) in 2014. That was an 80% growth rate, but it doesn’t compare to 2015’s gigantic leap to €3.6 billion ($4.0 billion), a 97% growth rate.
Transaction value saw slightly lower but still remarkable growth over the three years, from €10.2 billion ($11.3 billion) in 2013 to €15.9 billion ($17.6 billion) in 2014 and then, again, a massive jump in 2015, to €28.1 billion ($31.2 billion).
P2P accommodation—think Airbnb—transaction values were the highest of any platform within the sharing economy, at €15.10 billion ($16.8 billion) in 2015, which made up 54% of all transactions. No other platform made up more than 18% of total transactions. But P2P accommodation failed to replicate such dominance on the revenue side of the sharing economy.
P2P transportation, like Uber or Lyft, brought in the most revenue of any platform, at €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion), significantly higher than P2P accommodation’s €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion). Transportation made up 47% of all revenues, and after accommodation’s 32% share of revenue, no other platform topped 12% of total revenues.
So while the value of P2P accommodations was highest when it came to the sharing economy itself, transportation is a bigger market overall.