gig economy

COVID didn’t kill gig economy, the pandemic accelerated it

A new survey of the gig economy found that it grew 33% to $1.6 trillion in 2020, despite the onslaught of havoc brought upon the economy by COVID-19.

The online survey of 2,788 U.S. adults by payments firm daVinci Payments also had some other surprising facts about the nation’s gig workforce. The survey is based on the 35% of respondents who identified themselves as gig participants.

Defined as temporary or part-time work conducted by independent workers, the survey found that 63% of gig workers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/covid-didnt-kill-gig-economy-the-pandemic-accelerated-it

New coalition backed by gig companies pushes continued independence of workers

As the battle for worker classification for app-based drivers rages around the country, a new organization in New Jersey has formed to advocate for the workers.

The New Jersey Coalition for Independent Work was announced on Tuesday for the purposes of advocating for and protecting the continued independence and flexibility of app-based workers in the gig economy.

The group’s initial membership includes app-based companies DoorDash (NYSE: DASH), Instacart, Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT), Postmates and Uber (N...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-coalition-backed-by-gig-companies-pushes-continued-independence-of-workers

Social Auto Transport raises $1.5M in seed funding to expand gig economy auto-moving business

Car owners are mostly likely to visit dealerships for service during the first three years of vehicle ownership, J.D. Power reported in its 2020 Customer Service Index survey. The survey found that 88% of customers visit dealers for service in those initial years. The global insights company reported in 2018 that 64% of consumers wait at the dealership for their vehicle to be serviced.

In 2020, though, that changed. Car owners no longer wanted to sit in dealership waiting rooms as COVID gripped...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/social-auto-transport-raises-15m-in-seed-funding-to-expand-gig-economy-auto-moving-business

Grocery fulfillment optimization leads to Instacart layoffs

This is an excerpt from Thursday’s Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter.

Prior to the pandemic, less than 5% of all grocery spending occurred online. The coronavirus prompted millions of Americans to purchase groceries online for the first time, including older generations that had not even been considered potential market participants. Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 28% of baby boomers and silent generation shoppers increased their online grocery purchases...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/grocery-fulfillment-optimization-leads-to-instacart-layoffs

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