“The Economist” comments on the growth of the self storage industry

The Economist became the latest mainstream news publication to do an article on the remarkable growth of the self storage industry this week.

The newspaper – which sells more than 1 million copies each week – praised the ability of large American self storage firms to keep increasing profits from renting commercial property during the recession, when property revenues in other sectors have generally been flat or falling.

However, at the same time The Economist expressed a certain note of disapproval towards an industry which thrives on peoples’ sense of inertia towards their surplus possessions. They even argue that the behaviour of self storage customers is so illogical it calls into question a well-regarded piece of economic theory:

“[Self storage] baffles economists, who assume “free disposal”, meaning that things that aren’t needed can be thrown away without making anyone feel bad about the loss. The fact that so many hoarders pay lots of cash to keep things shows the assumption needs a rethink.”

What’s their advice for dealing with having too much stuff?

“The lessons of hoard-onomics are clear: don’t store your stuff, sell it. Then invest in a self storage business.”

You can read the full article online here:

http://www.economist.com/node/21560602

3 Responses to ““The Economist” comments on the growth of the self storage industry”

1. Bill says:

   August 21, 2012 at 7:52 pm

   Point well taken. We always tell people that if they have not used an item within a 12 month period, that they should sell it or get rid of it. Unfortunately, many people keep paying rent for items that are not even close to the value of their monthly rent. In fact, when we have had to auction items at San Clemente Storage, many times the value of these at sale are only a fraction of what the rent was for during their lease period.

2. storage wa says:

   September 10, 2012 at 4:13 am

   Very honest blog…people really have the tendency to buy things they don’t actually need… so they end up with self storage… so let us be wise next time… Thanks for sharing!!

   storage wa
   

3. Tate says:

   September 12, 2012 at 12:58 am

   Funny that this article doesn’t mention the VAT issue in the UK market which will effect storage companies.