E-commerce expansion benefits real estate and logistics sectors

India’s warehousing and logistics real estate segment has benefited immensely from the expansion in e-commerce over the last two years. The emerging retail segment took up about 1.7 million sq. ft. of warehousing space across Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and the Delhi National Capital Region in 2014, according to a report by CBRE, a leading commercial real estate services and investment firm. The report said that almost 25 per cent of the total warehousing/logistics space uptake across India in 2014 was by e-retail players, while the uptake in logistics space rose by more than seven times over that of 2013.

The last few years saw the segment becoming a new addition to the mix of major office space demand drivers in India as online retailers increased their footprints for front-end as well as back-end requirements.

“By the end of 2014, approximately 3.5 million sq.ft. of office space had either been leased or was in various stages of negotiation by e-commerce firms across the country, a growth of more than 400 per cent year on year,” the report titled, ‘Indian Online retail driving realty,’ said.

India’s online retail sector saw exponential growth as a number of local market-specific services — cash on delivery (COD), multiple payment options, and EMI options — assisted in developing the growth curve of ecommerce in the country. Online retail as a sector is still at a nascent stage in India, as leading players try to establish a strong foothold and consumers get accustomed to this new medium of shopping.

In the outlook for e-commerce, the report said, the sector’s future looks buoyant and it is likely to emerge as a strong demand driver for real estate space in the years to come. “The sector will also play a major role in the evolution of existing logistics providers, as well as in the development of logistics infrastructure in the country.”

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MCHI-THANE has always been very clear that fine housing complexes and shopping malls cannot stand in isolation. A great City is the sum total of great buildings, great infrastructure and great people. MCHI has been committed to growth of the real estate sector and is credited with the harmonious growth and rise in quality and standards of construction in Thane City in the past decade.

Its aim as an Association of Developers has been to seek rational rules and regulations which are uniformly applied across the board as this will to a great extent result in speedy construction, cost reduction, fair pricing and a push for better quality standards at par with the developed world, with a high level of transparency.