My World: June 2021…

This is part of a series of articles where our contributors describe how they think things will look a year from now.

The accelerated switch to e-commerce will boost demand for larger warehouses

At Tritax, initially with Tritax Big Box REIT plc and more recently with Tritax EuroBox plc, we have invested in the structural changes to our collective retail experience as e-commerce has developed. Covid-19 has accelerated the penetration of online e-commerce and made a significant and permanent sea change. Newly created online habits for both young and old will increase the popularity of both home delivery and click-and-collect, with a corresponding rise in demand for modern, large distribution warehouses that have the space to incorporate greater automation and social distancing resilience – the so-called new normal. 

Regardless of the duration of covid-19, businesses will include pandemic risk analysis and mitigation within their normal business planning. Increased automation within warehouses, carefully synchronised staff shifts and more space to hold larger inventories to combat supply change uncertainty will underline the importance of large-scale, technology-driven logistics in the economy.