A two-sided market facilitates interactions between multiple interdependent groups of customers. The value of the platform increases as more groups or as more individual members of each group are using it. The two sides usually come from disparate groups, e.g., businesses and private interest groups.
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How they do it: In Payback’s case the two groups of customers in the two-sided market a the private consumers and members of the loyalty program and the vendors who reward their customers purchases. Payback itself has access to the individual customer data and can earn money from the businesses participating in their program.
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How they do it: YouTube’s platform features a set of key stakeholders: Their users, creators, rights holders of music videos and copyrighted content, and advertisers. Reconciliating stakeholder needs in this ecosystem or multi-sided market is a key challenge for YouTube.
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How they do it: eBay is a two sided market. Sellers are able to list their products for a small fee or even for free, while buyers can discover product listings, and bid on or purchase products. eBay facilitates discovery and payments via its platform.
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How they do it: Airbnb offers a platform for everyone to offer their home, or experiences to guests. Airbnb’s focus lies purely on providing a reliable platform with safety mechanisms for both hosts and guests which simplifies the process of hosting and booking an accomodation.
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How they do it: The experience on the platform for the individual user increases with the amounts of interactions he can have with friends, peers, brands and other associations.
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