Livible Inc., a Seattle-based business specializing in valet self-storage services, has released findings from an online survey it conducted to gauge consumer attitudes toward valet-style and traditional self-storage. The survey received responses from 522 consumers in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.—all markets that have a valet-storage presence.
The markets are identical to those used by the company last year for the initial online survey it conducted when it was still called Storrage Inc. In the nine months since the first results were released, the percentage of respondents who indicated they preferred valet or on-demand storage to traditional self-storage increased from 42 percent to 63 percent.
Generally, valet-storage operators use an online platform that allows customers to schedule free item pickup, maintain an image catalog of stored bins and bulky items, and schedule delivery of belongings to their home. The businesses specialize in by-the-bin storage targeted at urban residents who don’t have adequate home storage.
Among the reasons respondents ranked valet storage ahead of traditional self-storage, 62 percent preferred saving time by not having to visit a unit to store or retrieve items, while 47 percent indicated they liked the idea of not having to transport belongings themselves. A majority of respondents (51 percent) indicated they believe valet storage is less expensive than traditional self-storage.
In all, Baby Boomers, Millennials, urban dwellers and women favored valet storage to traditional self-storage by a 2-1 margin, according to the Livible website. “The self-storage industry is booming with record revenues and a true ‘space race’ to build more facilities to meet the seemingly insatiable consumer demand,” CEO Terry Drayton said in a press release. “What our latest survey reveals is the rapidly growing preference and need for more convenient on-demand storage alternatives. Millennials and downsizing boomers, who are increasingly living urban lifestyles, are driving this.”
Although offering a visual catalog of stored items is frequently cited by valet-storage operators as a key component to the business model’s technological advantage and a point of leverage for the expansion of related services in the future, just 29 percent of respondents who said they preferred valet storage to self-storage cited an online visual catalog as a reason. A quarter of those who preferred valet storage indicated they were “physically unable to move” their belongings.
The survey was conducted Jan. 15-18 via Survey Monkey. The age range of respondents was 18 to 65, with an equal split between men and women, according to the release. The majority of responses (56 percent) came from those living in single-family homes, with the remainder in apartments. Just three-tenths of 1 percent had experience using valet or on-demand self-storage.
Livible changed its name from Storrage last September. The rebranding coincided with an escalation of service offerings, expansion of its pickup and delivery services to Portland, Ore., and the announcement of a national rollout plan. The company currently provides valet-storage services in Seattle and Portland, including pickup and delivery at Extra Space Storage Inc. locations.
