So, you’ve launched your own online marketplace, gig economy or sharing economy platform. What’s next? You need to attract users and, more importantly, retain them. But it’s actually one of the biggest challenges for a platform business to overcome. A study found that the average lifespan of a platform business in the US market is less than 5 years, and even shorter in the gig economy where platforms collapse on average after just 2-3 years.

There can be any number of reasons for this but one of the most significant ones is disintermediation.

Disintermedi-what?

Disintermediation. It’s when buyers and sellers use a platform to connect but then transact independently, off-platform after the first transaction. Also known as network leakage, it’s a common problem, especially in the gig economy. Click here to check out our animation, where we explain exactly how disintermediation works and how best to avoid it.

But you don’t want to know the problem, you need the solution! Once you’ve watched our animation, scroll down to take a look at our top 10 tips to encourage buyer/seller loyalty and get ready to make your platform shine.

And don’t forget, if you want more from Paybase, scroll down to the form below to subscribe to our mailing list.