One of the unusual business trends across the two major years of the pandemic has been the expansion of the self-storage industry. The recent period seems to have intensified the need for extra space. This relates to the use of portable storage containers, overseen by property companies for a fee with security measures provided.
The triggers for this include moving premises or homes, downsizing or making room for home offices to address the remote working boom. Such triggers have created more demand for self-storage. For example, 38 percent of the U.S. population have reported being self-storage users, based on a new survey from StorageCafe.
Of this subpopulation and considering the demographic groups beloved by marketers, Gen Xers (at 54 percent) and baby boomers (at 51 percent) are considered to be the most self-storage users.
Bubbling behind this, Millennials are starting to show an increased interest in self-storage. Here, 40 percent of millennials are self-storage users.
With demand comes rent growth, as suppliers of packaging seek to exploit market opportunities by rising prices. In terms of the escalating costs, Miami leads the U.S. with a year-over-year increase of 22.8 percent in prices. This place is followed by Chandler, AZ (a 21.1 percent year-over-year increase).
In terms of where storage is the most popular in the U.S., Idaho claims the most self-storage users (with 59 percent), followed by Utah (at 54 percent), with baby boomers making up the main age group of self-storage users in both states. New Mexico follows closely behind with 53 percent.
The latest data trend for the industry is:
For those unable or unwilling to pay, once item shave been sowed away, self-storage facilities often hold storage auctions or lien sales to vacate non-paying tenants according to their enforcement rights that are outlined within the lien law of each jurisdiction.
Aside from office materials, homeware are the most commonly stored items. About 1 in 3 U.S. citizens say they put furniture in self-storage. This is followed by clothing. Additionally, people also store home appliances, sporting items and hobby gear, as well as business items.
