A resident (e.g., an individual, a family, a tenant, a homeowner, etc.) may periodically purchase certain goods (e.g., groceries, fruits, paper, bottled water, newspapers, magazines, etc.) and/or services (e.g., car-wash, laundry services, etc.) from a merchant and/or a service provider (e.g., a local store). Needs for the goods and/or services of the resident may depend on things such as a season (e.g., summer, winter, etc.), a preference (e.g., certain vegetables, fruits, meats, etc.), and/or other reasons (e.g., age, health conditions, etc.).
The resident may discover common purchasing habits (e.g., from the same shop, same brand, same frequency, etc.) with neighbors when interacting with them (e.g., at local merchants, service providers, and/or social events). For example, John (e.g., the resident) may occasionally meet Jackie (e.g., a neighbor) at a point of purchase (e.g., a shopping mall, a grocery store, a flea market, etc.) and discover common buying habits of purchasing bananas and bottled water every Saturday morning.
There may be a number of other neighbors of John (e.g., the resident) and Jackie (e.g., the neighbor) who also buy bananas and bottled water every Saturday morning. It may be difficult for John, Jackie and the other neighbors to pool their assets and purchase bananas and bottled water together because managing finances and coordinating distribution can be cumbersome and difficult. For example, John, Jackie, and other neighbors may communicate with each other and decide to form a plan of taking turns alternate Saturdays in buying bananas and bottled water to save time, effort and money. However, this process may necessitate good understanding, cooperation and/or commitment by each participant of the plan. In addition, some of the neighbors may not even know each other and may be unaware that they also buy similar items each week.
This plan may run into challenges when someone fails to meet a commitment and/or the expectations of their neighbors (e.g., Jackie might be out of town on her weekend and may be unable to fulfill her commitment). In addition, settling payment terms by way of exchange of cash and/or checks can be difficult. A person who collects checks (e.g., John) may have to wait for the next opportunity to go to a bank, fill in forms, and deposit the checks manually. If John misplaces a check somehow, he may undergo a financial loss.
Managing the amounts owed to and to be paid by neighbors can be difficult. In addition, coordinating tasks can take more time than each neighbor just individually buying the goods and/or services on their own. As a result, the neighbors may not realize savings of time, energy and money in aggregating demand for the periodically purchased goods and/or services.