SINGAPORE: Self-storage providers are seeing a boom in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with some already expanding their operations in Singapore.
Enquiries and take-up rates for these spaces, which people and businesses rent to store personal items or inventory, have jumped, five providers told CNA.
More people are realising they need additional space at home for remote working and for new hobbies, providers said. Demand is also rising from businesses rethinking office space needs or stocking up on goods to guard against supply chain disruptions.
That said, demand did plummet during Singapore’s “circuit breaker” last year. Lock+Store’s chief executive Helen Ng said enquiries fell by 90 per cent between April and June last year.
But things picked up soon after the country exited the lockdown. Enquiries from individuals have since risen by 30 per cent and by 20 per cent from businesses – one-third of these individuals and half of these businesses eventually took up storage spaces, Ms Ng said.
Lock+Store, which has 12 facilities across Singapore, has expanded its capacity at three popular locations.
StorHub Self Storage, which was the first such operator here back in 2003, said its sales have grown more than 35 per cent since the start of 2020, along with a 110 per cent jump in enquiries. It opened two new locations this year, taking its number of facilities in Singapore to 13.
COVID-19 has “changed the rules of the game”, said the company’s Singapore CEO Luigi La Tona. “People used to see self-storage as a nice-to-have. It’s now a need-to-have.”
Work+Store, which launched its 10th storage facility here in August, said take-up rates by individuals and businesses have increased by 10 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively, when compared with pre-pandemic days.
Over at Extra Space Asia, enquiries and take-up rates rose by about 30 to 40 per cent since early last year, with demand from businesses “being slightly higher”. The overall occupancy rate across its 11 locations now stands at 93 per cent, up from 87 per cent in 2019 before COVID-19 hit.
“The pandemic has not affected our business as storage is essential for many, be it for personal use or business use, although the reasons for needing storage have changed slightly,” said chief executive Kenneth Worsdale.
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