Millennials Drive the Sharing Economy: How Airbnb, Rent the Runway & More Are Changing the Game

Companies like Uber, Spotify, and Airbnb are all recent success stories that also speak to the new sharing economy.

In years past, the idea of renting someone's apartment for a vacation stay was nothing short of a foreign concept to millennials.

Airbnb has created an entirely new way of traveling for millennials, providing access to properties ranging from intimate to exotic all around the world with competitive pricing that most major hotel chains can't compete against.

Millennials have broadened their idea of sharing beyond luxuries like cars and vacations.

Rent the Runway, a popular online retailer offering designer dresses and accessories for rent, has surged to success among millennial women, where luxury designers might have normally been out of their financial reach.

'Not only is Rent the Runway the smart choice of women who value experiences over possessions, it's also the modern one. In today's sharing economy, our customer gets around the city via Uber, she listens to her music on Spotify, and she uses Airbnb when she travels. We are the first company to allow her to approach fashion in the same way,' states Welington Fonseca, SVP of Marketing.

Millennials' need for sharing is not just about finances but rather their insatiable desire to refresh a product or service as fast as they do their social media feeds.

Fonseca persists in the belief that 'Rent the Runway's unlimited service is the cure for fast fashion. It offers women a subscription to fashion, giving them access to designer statement pieces on a rotating basis, so they can augment their closet staples with quality, desirable pieces.'

Being 92 million strong, the sharing economy that millennials have created is a trend that is sure to be long-lasting.

With companies like Ford and Rent the Runway already recognizing the significance of the millennial sharing economy, this proves to be a feasible space for future innovation and product creation for years to come.