Coles, Woolworths, and Big W have become the first major retailers to stock Airtasker‘s line of gift cards following a new partnership deal with the Sydney-based online task outsourcer.
The deal, understood to be one of the first major commercial recognitions of the sharing economy trend, will see Airtasker gift cards distributed to network of more than 2300 retail outlets across Australia.
Coles and Woolworths supermarkets will stock the cards, however, the gift cards are not yet available in Coles Express or Woolworths Petrol. The cards will retail for $50, offering an equivalent amount of credit for cleaning, installations, furniture assembly or any other task.
Airtasker was started by Jonathan Liu and Tim Fung in 2012 and enables users to outsource everyday tasks. Users describe the task and indicate a budget, community members then bid to complete the task.
There are more than 360,000 Australians on the Airtasker platform, who use the service to complete a diverse range of tasks including cleaning, handiwork and gardening. The platform has seen substantial growth in 2015, adding more than 170,000 new members since the start of the year.
“The launch of Airtasker cards is a huge step forward for us, as we’ve now made the platform more accessible to consumers than ever before,” Airtasker co-founder and CEO, Tim Fung said.
“We’ve made significant headway in the past year, with Australian consumers realising they can get more done by working with people in their local neighbourhood. We believe that Airtasker cards will push this sharing economy trend to the next level.”
“We’ve also seen huge demand for a product that can allow people to give the gift of free time or an extra weekend to their friends and family – and Airtasker cards is the answer.”
A study conducted by Airtasker in July revealed that the number of Australians using online platforms to earn extra money doubled from four per cent January 2015 to eight per cent in September 2015.