Sharing and on-demand services attract a small but active group of ‘super users’

From ride-hailing apps to shopping services, the sharing and on-demand economy has grown in the US, yet a relatively small minority of the public is incorporating shared and on-demand services deeply into their day-to-day lives. Still, some Americans are “super users”: 7% have used six or more services (out of a total of 11), according to a Pew Research Center study. Unsurprisingly, super users are deeply immersed in digital technology. Just under half (45%) report that they are online “constantly”; 99% indicate that they use some type of social media site; 95% own a smartphone; and 91% have high-speed broadband service at home. Even so, like other Americans this group is largely unfamiliar with some key terms relating to the sharing and on-demand economy. Nearly half (45%) have never heard of the term “sharing economy,” and 64% have never heard of the term “gig economy.”

Even as they use technology to connect with gig workers who can help them with their day-to-day needs and tasks, these super users engage in a fair amount of sharing on their own. In the year before the survey was conducted, 85% have driven a friend or family member somewhere as a favor; 82% have loaned a book, DVD or household item to someone they know; 60% have helped watch someone’s house while that person was out of town; and 44% have shared their login to a paid website or streaming service. For this group of users, the technological advances of the shared and on-demand economy seem to supplement – rather than replace – sharing behaviors in the traditional, informal sense of the word.