More than half (55.6 percent) of executive level respondents predicted that e-commerce would provide the main source of demand for European distribution space over the next three years, vastly outperforming growth from other industries. Third-party logistics came in second with 23.6 percent and manufacturing, food, and non-food retailers accounted for 6.9 percent, 8.3 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively.
"The success of e-commerce is changing the nature of retailers' logistics property requirements across Europe," says Guy Frampton, Executive Director, Industrial and Logistics, EMEA, CBRE. "The traditional model, which relies heavily on a high street presence, is being altered by significant demand for distribution property as retailers' delivery channels expand, and the industrial and logistics sector is benefiting from this change. Online-only retailers such as Amazon, as well as those with a high street and online presence such as Next, with its successful Directory business are driving this trend."
The results of the survey, which analyses occupier, developer and investor sentiment across Europe, was revealed at CBRE's annual European industrial and logistics conference.
