Jones Lang LaSalle EMEA Research has published a white paper A new logistics real estate landscape – The impact of multi-channel retail on logistics. Alexandra Tornow sums up the opportunities – and understand the challenges – that arise with the evolution of e-commerce in the logistics real estate sector:

"The five main reasons the European logistics real estate investment market will benefit from growing e-commerce:

1. The modern customer is driving the future of supply chains with information such as prices, quality and availability of products only a click away. The shift in logistics behind these evolving supply chains is becoming the backbone in delivering the best multi-channel customer service. As a result, logistics real estate will become increasingly attractive to a wider range of investors.
2. Occupier requirements for large fulfilment centres are now more prevalent in the mature markets – a trend that is not only driven by the pure online giants such as Amazon or Zalando (the German fashion e-tailer). Requirements are coming also from other retailers or 3PLs who are currently re-organising their supply chains to respond to an increase in e-commerce related contracts. The latest evidence arrives with news of the ground-breaking delivery of a 175,000 sq m logistics centre in Erfurt (Germany) for German bookseller KNV. The centre will be able to service around one quarter of the whole German market for KNV and will employ around one thousand permanent employees.  As online sales and multi-channel retailing is gathering pace and the pressure of short delivery times is increasing, requirements for logistics mega-centres will continue to grow.
3. Occupier demand is also significantly intensifying for parcel hubs and cross dock centres. These buildings facilitate the throughflow of parcels at close proximity to large urban areas, ports and airports. As such they have a high strategic importance in the e-commerce supply chain. These centres are smaller in size than e-fulfilment centres, generally between 10,000-20,000 sq m – thus providing an investment size that is appealing to investors.
4. Parcel hubs and sortation centres do not only provide a crucial support in online delivery they also benefit from the growing importance in city/urban logistics – another phenomenon currently driving floorspace demand for these facilities.
5. Changing building requirements and location strategies are driving development activity for this new type of building. This in turn is leading to increasing liquidity in the wider logistics real estate market."

Microsoft tells us: "In 2012, online platforms - such as ecommerce and video-sharing sites, search engines, social networks and cloud computing providers - contributed more than €430 billion to the European economy, up from €310bn in 2009."

Forrester predicts that increasing ease among Canadians to buy cross-border will lead to US-based e-shops pushing local e-shops out. "About 68 per cent of the online shoppers surveyed said they have shopped at a web store based outside Canada. Of those, 72 per cent said it was because they couldn't find what they were looking for from a Canadian e-tailer, and 59 per cent said cheaper prices contributed to their decision to buy abroad."

Design site Fab.com aggressively expands its EU e-Commerce by rolling out in France and expanding its activities in other markets. WSJ: "According to CEO Jason Goldberg, the company is on track to do nearly $100 million in sales this year. “Not bad, since we only launched in Europe at the end of last year,” he said."