With Online Shopping on the Rise, Only 55% of Self Storage in the UK Publishes Rates

We recently wrote about how the pandemic has shifted consumer shopping habits, accelerating the adoption of e-commerce as the preferred way of shopping. In response to this rapid shift, businesses have had to expand their online presence, not only to capture customers and drive revenue, but also to make themselves available to respond to customer enquiries.

In the UK the pandemic has undoubtedly changed the way most self-storage owners and operators run their facilities and engage with future renters. StorTrack’s data for the UK’s self-storage market shows there are currently about 4000 facilities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Current data shows that despite now being on the second year of a pandemic, on average, only 55 percent of all self-storage stores in the country publish their rates online. Additionally, there is quite a significant disparity between the number of stores publishing rates owned by multi-store operators and the number of single-store operators publishing rates. Only 45 percent of small operators are publishing rates online, compared to 71 percent of stores run by multi-store operators. In a time when consumer habits are rapidly changing and online marketing is on the rise, it is specially important for self-storage operators to offer the convenience of online booking, making it easier to drive rentals, otherwise money is being left on the table.

For self-storage investors and developers in the UK, having access to this type of data can help identify underserved markets. Stores with little to no online presence are also less likely to have significant marketing activity to drive customers, making this a potential opportunity.

To get the latest market insights for any market in the UK, visit StorTrack.co.uk