Online marketplaces have been disrupting the service industry for quite some time, and the success of marketplaces like Airbnb, Uber and HomeJoy manifests their victory in a multitude of sectors. Joining this league, a new marketplace model has evolved in recent times and is working quite well in many countries. We’re talking about caregiving sector. Websites like Sittercity, Urbansitter, HomeHero and Care.com are the most commonly cited examples of leading marketplaces for caregiving services. These platforms connect sitters and professional caregivers with people looking for varied services like baby care, pet care, elderly care.
Care services are held in high regard and placed up on a high pedestal in our society. However finding good caregivers for pets, babies or elderly have always been an arduous task for people. This is where online marketplace for caregivers comes into play. Let us take a closer look at three major areas a caregiver marketplace addresses, and understand what calls for the presence of more such online platforms globally.
People all across the globe are getting old, but in particular, the population above the age of 65 is increasing. According to World Bank currently, 8% of the global population is above the age group of 65. This figure has been on a constant rise since 1986 and is expected to grow further in the coming years.
As our lives are getting more intertwined doing daily chores of our lives, most of our time is spent outside our homes. This leaves very little or no time for taking care of our elderly. According to AARP, 87 percent of seniors prefer to stay in their own homes as they age, often referred to as “aging in place”, as opposed to moving to a nursing home or assisted living facility.
To ensure that proper care is given to them, either someone from the family is expected to stay with them 24×7 or they need to look for a professional caregiver to take care of them. Our senior population is going through its fastest growth period in our history, so it’s probably no surprise that the number of available senior caregivers is increasing as well. Studies have shown that elderly caregiver marketplaces will see a growth of 75-80% YOY in the next few years. This brings a good opportunity for entrepreneurs to launch a marketplace aimed at giving care to senior citizens. Have a look at the crucial features of caregiver marketplaces to learn more about the business model, revenue streams and more.
After elderly, the second most crucial area where caregivers are in huge demand is child care. Nowadays with both parents working the best possible option in front of them is a babysitter. However, when it comes to complete child care, a babysitter is not enough. On top of that, finding a good child caregiver is always a hassle. The fact of the matter is that this is a $48 billion industry.
Even the US Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that this sector will have one of the fastest growing employment opportunities by 2020. Sales among privately owned firms offering child day care have grown at an astounding rate of 9% last year.
A marketplace catering to child care will surely make a name for itself. Rather than going through child care services, parents could easily go through local child caregivers who have already been vetted by the marketplace and choose the most suitable professional. The best part about this is that one does not have to go through several hoops of visiting different babysitters and child caregiver firms. More importantly, industry insiders have often said that this sector tends to have really high-profit margins, on an average around 96%, which makes this a perfect business model.
Who doesn’t love pets? But the one problem with owning pets is that you cannot take them with you everywhere. There are times when you are going to a friend’s place, to party or a vacation out of the country. The biggest predicament in front of you is your pet. You cannot take them with you, nor can you keep them alone in the house. This is where pet caregivers come into play. Rover, DogVacay, PawShake are few of successful care marketplaces with exquisite features for pet owners and sitters. These platforms help people find a place for their dog, cat and pets so and the owners can go on a vacation without worrying.
In USA and UK, over half of the households own a pet. Whether it is a cat, dog, bird, fish or horse – pets need to eat, keep clean, and need constant look after. This makes pet care a booming business idea. By 2020, the US pet care industry is expected to reach $96 billion. Nowadays, people tend to put as much effort into the care of a pet as they do for people. This opens a huge window for a dedicated marketplace of pet caregivers. Rather than going out looking for a trustworthy pet caregiver, they can just visit a pet caregiver marketplace.
The future is all about online marketplaces, and caregivers are one of the untapped sectors. It has a lot of opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to launch their own caregiver marketplace. So what should aspiring entrepreneurs do is capture this market. They can choose an online caregiver marketplace solution and quickly launch a marketplace in the most preferred sector. It is important to note that the caregiver marketplace can expand to many other areas other than the three mentioned in this post. This includes general care, medical care, or even taking care of day to day events. The opportunities are vast and anyone with a feature-rich marketplace can capture the bulk of the market.
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