A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) finds that the sharing economy is set to see substantial growth, as players in more established sectors, such as transport and space, press their first mover advantage.

The research group forecasts that the sharing economy will reach $40.2 billion in 2022 in terms of platform provider revenues, up from $18.6 billion in 2017. Since Juniper’s previous research, some of the biggest names in the sharing economy including Uber and Lyft, have seen much greater returns from driver operations than expected. The proportion taken by these platforms is now around 30% per journey, as providers capitalize on an established driver network, notes Juniper.

In addition, uptake of many leading sharing services has increased considerably, with listings on shared space provider Airbnb growing from two million at the end of 2015, to 3 million this year. Juniper believes that the space and transport sectors will continue to dominate the sharing industry.

However, the research found that there is increased pressure on companies such as TaskRabbit in the shared services sector, as more flexible start-ups and listing sites gain traction and, ultimately, market share. Juniper identified corporate space as the next high-growth sector in the sharing economy; an area which has developed rapidly and somewhat under the radar.

“The sharing of corporate space via platforms such as WeWork and PivotDesk is the next growth area of the sharing economy, with entire floors of office blocks kitted out and primed for office sharing,” says research author Lauren Foye.

Substantial investment is also underway, with Softbank investing $3 billion in WeWork in February 2017, anticipating sustained growth in the flexible rental of high-spec, modern office properties. Consequently, Juniper found that the sector will deliver substantial returns of over $10 billion by 2022.