Feature

Package Volume Projections

by Michael Patton, Fetch

With the emergence of Covid-19 in 2020, package delivery increased significantly in apartment communities. Renters turned to e-commerce to fulfill all their shopping needs. As a result, property managers encountered numerous package deliveries to their communities and faced the unforeseen consequences of storage limitations and distribution difficulties. Unfortunately, the data suggests that the trend is not slowing anytime soon. On the contrary, it supports that e-commerce will only increase over the next few years. Fetch, a national off-site package solution company for multifamily communities and now serving 3,756 units and 15 communities in Nashville’s market, has released its three-year projection for package volume.

As the coronavirus emerged in February 2020, package volume accelerated to 29% above figures from the previous year. It continued to rise throughout the year, with an average of 10 packages per apartment in May 2020. When the government and state representatives lifted mandated closures and stay-at-home orders, the exponential growth of package volume continued. Fetch predicts that the trend will continue to escalate for 2022 and 2023. The company reported a slight reduction to 8.19 packages per apartment home in 2021 but anticipates that the rate will climb in 2022 to 9.41 packages per apartment home. As of January 2022, Fetch is handling 7,660 packages a week for the Nashville market – totaling to over 30,000 package deliveries to apartment communities. By 2023, the multifamily industry can expect to see 10.65 packages per apartment home each month. As the package volume flow increases, so does the responsibility of property managers to accept and distribute packages to their communities.

With the average leasing office measuring roughly 800 cubic feet, property managers are overwhelmed with managing an increased package volume in small office spaces. Fetch estimated they will handle 26,898,393 cubic feet of packages for the year 2022 – which could fill 33,623 leasing offices. By 2023, it is estimated to reach 47,882,270 cubic feet – which could fill 59,853 leasing offices. Since the new package flow has surpassed the capacity of most multifamily properties, apartment communities are seeking off-site package solutions to lessen the stress of managing packages within confined spaces. One fact is certain: e-commerce will continue to alter how apartment communities handle package distribution processes in the multifamily space.

MICHAEL PATTON

CEO and Founder, Fetch

Michael Patton, CEO and founder of Fetch, stated, “E-commerce saw a rapid acceleration due to the pandemic, but data indicates that level has yet come down, and in fact it is estimated that e-commerce will continue to trend roughly 30% higher than last year.”

Information provided by Marlena DeFalco, LinnellTaylor Marketing, marlena@ linnelltaylor.com