Bright spark tradies cash in
TRADIES willing to join the on-demand economy are opening up a lucrative market of younger Australians who prefer apps over traditional methods to book jobs.
TRADIES willing to join the on-demand economy are opening up a lucrative market of younger Australians who prefer using apps over traditional methods to book jobs.
Australian households are estimated to spend more than $73 billion a year on trades, comprising an estimated 70 million paid residential jobs across the country each year.
This sector is continuing to grow but new research released today suggests it is fraught with inefficiencies and “old school” practices, such as word of mouth or the Yellow Pages to attract clients.
The research, commissioned by tradie booking platform hipages, which is partowned by Cairns Post publisher News Corp, says taking the trade sector digital will help 250,000 Australian trade businesses grow.
Hipages chief executive David Vitek said, with only about 2.5 million residential trade jobs being booked each year via digital platforms – and the other 67.5 million jobs booked offline – the sector was practically built for disruption.
“Driven by Millennials and younger Australians, innovative technologies are beginning to powerfully transform the way tradies and consumers conduct business,” Mr Vitek said.