Introduction

Shenzhen, a young and rapidly developing city, has adopted a range of innovative methods to stimulate its economy. Creating a sharing economy has played an important role, boosting the thriving economy to an unprecedented level. Since 2012, the establishment of the Didi company, a counterpart to Uber, along with portable charging and bike-sharing services has injected vitality into Shenzhen’s economic development. The existence of this sharing economy seems to have already become an indispensable part of local people’s lives. In this article, the sharing economy is classified, according to current standards, into three types, each contributing to economic development in a unique way.

Type 1

The first type of sharing economy features a platform, allowing users to share information without constraints, in order to raise funds to support the operation of the platform. In order to earn enough profit to revitalize the company, it will usually provide some paid services on its platform via advertisements or ticket booking.

One typical example of this type of company is Dianping, an application providing a platform for exchanging and sharing local experiences. Users can easily find restaurants and any other places of entertainment, ranging from a basketball court to a beauty salon. For each store run on Dianping, there are four main modules: a picture of the store uploaded by users, a list of preferential pricing policies to make purchases on the platform cheaper, feedback videos uploaded by customers, as well as comments and ratings of the products bought from the store.

Although platforms like Dianping seems to offer many services for free, they actually have various ways of making considerable profits, including but not limited to:

1.Group purchase order commissions
2.Consumer card rebates
3.Themed campaign cooperation and displayed advertisements 
4.Merchant recommendations and rankings
5.Preferential voucher rebates
6.Membership rights and potential external cooperation

As platforms like Dianping gain traction nationwide and correspondingly transform people’s behaviors and expectations of the market, different individuals, as well as interest groups, have assisted in stimulating Shenzhen’s economic development.

On the consumer level, the existence of online platforms like Dianping has helped to reduce asymmetric information in the market. It weeds out fraudulent sellers, thus making the market more transparent and more competitive. Furthermore, it contributes to the optimization of the market environment, resulting in sounder and healthier market competition.

On the company level, the emergence of vibrant online sharing platforms creates new job opportunities. Sharers on these platforms who provide high-quality content often draw new followers, thus becoming cyber celebrities. For example, popular video uploaders use a platform called Little Red Book to share hotspots in China. This new occupation can increase employment as well as the gross or average income on both nation and citizen ends.

However, there are still some problems beneath the robust growth of the various sharing platforms. Due to the growing popularity of Dianping and other free sharing platforms, to gain more ratings and a better reputation on these platforms, some merchants may choose to offer discounts to allure consumers to rate their platforms higher. This may cause the customer shopping experience to become unsatisfactory.  However, to alleviate this problem, rigorous review systems could be implemented.

Type 2

The second type of sharing economy is characterized by the offering of fixed assets and equipment on a paid basis. There are no other services affiliated with this mode as this type of sharing economy is mainly based on the revenues businesses gain from the market.

The daily sharing of items like mobile and sharable chargers are classified into this type and you can find many of these throughout the city. Convenience is a hallmark of this kind of economy. Apart from the high accessibility, the cheap prices offered under this type of economy lowers the threshold for people to buy services rolled out on these platforms. The affordable prices on these service platforms have attracted countless individuals to become customers.

The appearance of this type of sharing economy has made society work more efficiently. For example, Mobike, a bicycle-sharing platform in China, has improved the convenience of middle and short-distance travel. People who commute to and from work can choose to ride a Mobike if the distance in between falls into either the short or middle distance category. This convenient mode of transportation can save these individuals time, a precious resource they can now spend taking care of their families or simply relaxing. Additionally, it reduces the costs of travel for the individual as well as increases the efficiency in society as a whole. Thus maximizing overall productivity or outputs on both the individual and company levels. In cities like Shenzhen, which is increasingly lauded for its green and healthy concept in both life and work, people who opt to ride these bikes are also partaking in physical exercise, which can help them relax as well as keep fit amidst an intensive workload. In turn, this can help reduce the rate of obesity and related problems triggered by obesity.

On the other hand, the existence of this type of sharing economy has also caused certain wastes within the city. For instance, as more individuals became Mobike users, many tended to focus so much on efficiency that they sometimes abandoned the bikes either around the subway or simply on the street. As time went by, these bikes actually became waste due to the lack of proper management from their providers who were too focused on the short-term gain of profits. Piles of abandoned bikes were found on the sidewalks, even obstructing pedestrians and citizens. Other disorderly placements of these bikes narrowed parking spaces, driving lanes, as well as entrances and exits to the subway causing traffic jams and hindering subway passengers from smoothly commuting. This specifically caused problems during the peak morning and afternoon hours.

To effectively resolve the above issues, all levels of government can introduce stricter regulations or laws as well as intensify punishments for breaking these laws.

Type 3

The third type of sharing economy aims to provide a platform for users to share unused fixed assets, equipment, and services for a fee.

An example of this type of economy can be seen in the company Didi Taxi. This company establishes a platform for people to share their personal cars while also providing an interface for a transfer service. Customers pay the drivers and the company takes a certain portion of the profit for their service. Didi is similar to normal taxi companies; however, it is more flexible regarding its ordering procedure making it more efficient and timely for both the drivers and riders. Since the divers are spread across the country, there is a vast availability of cars, preventing long wait times.

The existence of this type of sharing economy provides new jobs in society, allowing individuals to seek employment even if only temporarily, reduces the fraction of unemployment, and increases job opportunities for those with limited education who have difficulty finding a job. The drastic participation and increase in job availability have boosted Shenzhen’s economy.

Nonetheless, platforms like this also have problems. In recent years, news of Didi drivers who have raped and murdered passengers constantly appears in the public sight. For example, in 2016, a female teacher in Shenzhen was murdered after being mugged by a Didi taxi driver while in 2018 an airline stewardess was murdered after being raped. Both of these events were horrible and greatly concerned society. To improve on this, all Didi drivers are now required to have a camera in the car, and people under 16 cannot call a car alone. Both of these methods have effectively reduced the rate of crime, making the platform safer.

How has a sharing economy manifested Shenzhen’s economic development?

Shenzhen’s sharing economy is highly developed. According to statistics, there are thousands of sharing economy companies that reside in Shenzhen, including three local car-sharing companies called IGO, Pony Car, and TOGO. Additionally, ATLAS, a high-end office sharing company, has officially opened its third office center in Shenzhen in the Ding He Building.

For these platforms, opening a company in Shenzhen means that they can find a complete set of equipment and industry chains while entering an active market. Additionally, through these services, Shenzhen has a healthy competitive environment with both fixed assets and equipment providers who ensure the welfare of the consumers. The labor force and consumers are considerable in Shenzhen. Shenzhen has had extraordinary economic development, boosted significantly by its profound sharing economy.