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Demand for retail warehousing has reportedly fallen to its lowest point in the last decade, according to The Telegraph.
The news comes as the surge in online shopping which culminated at its peak during the Covid-19 pandemic has also begun to falter with shoppers returning to the high street.
The outlet cited research from the CoStar Group which found the number of firms ditching their warehouse space exceeded those occupying them for the first time.
Earlier this year Amazon revealed it was to start subletting its empty warehouses across the UK, as it has continued to halt growth plans after its full-year profits halved to $12.2bn (£9.9bn) in FY22.
Supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Co-op have also reportedly begun subletting unused warehouse space as online grocery shopping has diminished in favour of in-store visits.
Costar Group director of market analytics, Gavin Lonsdale, told The Telegraph: “With cost-of-living pressures weighing on consumers, many online and bricks-and-mortar retailers, as well as the third-party logistics providers that service them, are re-evaluating their storage and distribution space requirements in a bid to optimise overheads. This trend is likely to persist into next year.”
