PODCAST: The rise of the automated dark store

As the shopping season ramps up, what does everybody want this year? Ultra-fast online deliveries, of course.

Consumer expectations for on-demand shopping are on the rise. And to fulfil those demands quickly, so are dark stores. These micro-warehouses filled with goods for online shoppers are developing fast in established markets like the U.S and Europe, and also spreading to new markets in Asia Pacific.

“We’re about to see the largest disruption to retail and the supply chain that we have ever witnessed,” says Brittain Ladd, global strategy and supply chain consultant, referring to the high levels of automation feeding a consumer culture. “What we’re about to see through the rest of the 2020s is more changes in retail and business than we have seen in the prior 100 years.”

The changes come amid a sustained boom in the logistics real estate sector. According to JLL’s Future of Global Logistics report, 74 percent of surveyed professionals expect demand to continue grow at pace over the next five years.

What do the latest developments with dark stores mean for the world of logistics and supply chains?