EXPRESS: Economic Inequality Hinders Consumers’ Access to Peer-To-Peer Services

Peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms promise openness and access, yet various biases and barriers shape who gets served. This research investigates how regional economic inequality drives access to peer-to-peer services. Using archival, survey, and experimental data across multiple contexts—including lending, lodging, car rental, and tool sharing—the authors provide convergent evidence that heightened economic inequality within a consumer’s geographic region (community, state, or nation) reduces providers’ willingness to serve that consumer when inequality is a salient socioeconomic cue. This decreased willingness constitutes a form of exclusion rooted in providers’ inferences about potential consumers. Thought protocol analyses reveal that providers infer lower socioeconomic status (SES) and diminished trustworthiness among consumers from more unequal regions, thereby increasing perceived financial risk of serving them. Crucially, the authors demonstrate a boundary condition with practical relevance: a strong platform reputation, such as high ratings, can counteract the negative effects of regional economic inequality, restoring access and interpersonal trust in P2P exchanges.