Over the last several years, the model of doing business in the world has changed dramatically. With the invention and development of the Internet, companies are relying more and more on online ordering to increase their sales revenue. Businesses might still be leasing retail space and doing business from a storefront, but they are also leasing a warehouse to hold their inventory for online fulfillment.
Warehouse and occupied distribution space have increased in size steadily over the last 17 years by roughly 86.2%. The demand has continued to grow as companies look to be able to fill an online order in a hurry. If a store doesn’t have something in stock, customers will move to a competitor that does.
It is this e-commerce that is driving the need for more commercial warehousing space. With an expected growth at a compounded annual average rate of 10% over the next few years, e-commerce is continuing to change the way business is being conducted not just in the United States but all over the world.
This extension of the retail business model is not only boosting sales for companies that have traditionally counted on only leasing retail space to conduct their business transactions, it is also increasing the opportunity for more and more jobs in the retail sector. In the United States alone, roughly 167,000 men and women are employed in the warehousing and distribution industry. When customers, whether online or in the brick and mortar store, are looking for a product that they want to be shipped to someplace, in particular, having distribution warehouse space to count on can make all the difference.
At the same time, however, this growth in distribution and warehouse space does not mean that leasing retail space is not still vitally important for businesses selling products. People still, and will likely always, want to see, touch, and experience a product before they buy it. This has always been they way human beings have interacted with each other when it comes to buying and selling items.
We have not moved away from this model, but we have expanded the opportunity for companies to offer more via an online showroom. This model allows smaller businesses to compete with the big boys. Leasing retail space with an additional warehouse location gives customers the opportunity to see products on the showroom floor and have them delivered from the warehouse location.
Business is always expanding in the United States. The model for retail business practices continues to evolve and expand. If you have a business that is currently leasing retail space but doesn’t have a warehouse facility nearby to fulfill either special orders or all delivery orders, you might just be missing out on increasing your bottom line.
