There's been an incredibly rapid increase in the number of storage centres in the UK in recent years... the number has grown from 1,505 in 2018 to over 2,700 today, that's almost a doubling in just seven years.
Another change is the location: in the bad-old-good-old days these storage centres used to be located o industrial estates on the edge of towns and cities, now they're springing up in more central central locations, and actually getting a bit bougie... rather than the old metal-clanging monotone vibe of yesteryear.
So why the increase in storage units...?
Housing, or lack of it, is the most obvious causal factor. Simply put people, especially younger people, are living in smaller houses and flats and they don't have enough room in them to store all their stuff. And many people have to move frequently, so maybe storage is just convenient!
Possibly there is also a yearning for security going on here.... while it is economically irrational to pay for storage for stuff you can't use on a daily basis, these possessions represent either, or both fond memories or aspirations, Yes, some people store furniture they intend to use when they (hopefully) find a bigger house!
This is a kind of anti-minimalist movement... a way of holding onto your past or future without cluttering up the present, and it's especially a thing among youngsters who have grown up in the recent two decades of economic uncertainty... storing stuff is maybe not giving in to tough times...?
And the side hustle...
And then there's the growth of mini-warehouses... for those who sell their own products online, they need somewhere to store them, and cluttering up the house is a bit naff... And for them the storage unit may be seen as a workplace, somewhere outside of the house to work and think, some of them aren't much more than a co-work space after all...
Final thoughts....
I'm surprised at the rapid growth of these units, not so much at the growth, but the rapidity, it's an interesting sign of our times.
Also makes me glad I sold most of my stuff when I moved abroad, defo economically irrational for me to rent one of these!