In recent years, the self storage industry has witnessed a boom in growth – popularity of self storage units is only on the rise. Increased demand during the pandemic era has transformed the requirement for safe storage spaces into a lucrative business.
Read on to learn more about the rise of self storage facilities and what trends we can expect to see in the future.
Increased demand
We are witnessing an increased demand in self storage facilities and this is only set to rise over the coming years.
The self storage industry prospered during the pandemic – as shops closed and online markets boomed, it remained an essential service that could remain open and therefore became an integral part of the logistics chain.
Other factors such as urbanisation, ageing populations and the boom in e-commerce have all contributed to the increased demand for self storage units.
In the UK the rise in people attending university has also resulted in self storage facilities being more frequently used, as undergraduates moving across the country and international students arriving from the other side of the world require a safe place to store their things. This is just a smaller component of the general boom in renting – with fewer people owning permanent homes, there is a heightened need for somewhere to safely store belongings in both rural and urban locations.
An automated experience
A trend we’re already beginning to witness is self storage facilities turning to automation. As Covid-19 enforced a growing need for businesses to implement automated processes and online services, self storage units turned to technology to create a safer environment for workers and customers. The use of online bookings, virtual tours, automated payments, and all-around self-service options is only set to increase in 2023 – becoming an industry standard. Customers are increasingly placing reservations online, another outcome of the pandemic. This is a particularly appealing prospect, as renters arriving in a new area are provided with a sense of security searching and booking self storage spaces without having to visit the facility first.
We can also expect to see a rise in remote monitoring, an option that allows customers to safely ‘visit’ their storage unit from home.
The need to downsize
The rise of minimalism this millennium has caused people to search frantically for temporary storage space as they declutter their homes. As houses similarly become smaller, we can expect this trend to contribute towards increased demand for self storage facilities over the next decade.
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