Mostly households. In the Self Storage Association UK's 2026 annual report, produced with Cushman & Wakefield, 75.9% of customers in its survey were domestic and 24.1% were businesses, counted by customer. In the same report, the most cited reason for considering storage was having no room for things at home, followed by moving and an important life event. Customers aged 55 to 64 are the largest age group (31%), and 39.0% have been in their unit three years or more. If you're moving, downsizing or short of space, you're the typical case. If you run a small business or sell online, you're in the other quarter: a unit can hold your stock for you to come and collect, but it can't be your office or trading address (more in the business section below). If you're renovating, storing after life events such as a separation or bereavement, store for a student or an estate, or have been storing for years, there's a section below for you too.
What the industry figures say
These come from the SSA UK's UK Self Storage Annual Report 2026.
| Figure | Source and scope |
|---|---|
| 75.9% domestic, 24.1% business, "by customer count" (73/27 in the 2025 report, whose survey had 1,253 respondents; the 2026 survey had 232, so treat a small year-on-year shift with caution) | UK Self Storage Annual Report 2026 (2025 operating year), UK |
| Top reasons for considering storage: "No room for items at residence (26.6%)", then "moving (21.7% and 5.6%)", then "an important life event (14.0%)". The report doesn't say whether these are shares of all customers or of domestic customers only | UK Self Storage Annual Report 2026, UK |
| Customers aged 55 to 64 are the largest group: 31% combined (15.5% each for 55 to 59 and 60 to 64); the 65 to 69 group adds another 11.5% | UK Self Storage Annual Report 2026, UK |
| 39.0% of customers had been in their unit three years or more; 13.2% for three months or less | UK Self Storage Annual Report 2026, customer survey |
Households: moving, renovating, or simply out of room
This is most of the market. Our guides for each situation go into sizes, timings and what to pack first:
| If you're… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Moving house, or between homes | Self storage when moving house |
| Renovating, or having a kitchen or loft done | Self storage during a renovation |
| Out of room, or clearing space to sell | Decluttering storage |
| Downsizing | Self storage for downsizers |
| Separating, or moving out at short notice | Private self storage for a separation |
If you're storing after a separation, you're not unusual: in the SSA UK's 2025 report, 14% of customers who came to storage after a life event gave ending a relationship as the reason. In the report's words, "death in the family was the most common (27%), followed by ending a relationship (14%)".
The "no room" reason is worth taking seriously on its own terms. If you're weighing storage against a bigger home, our page on whether self storage is cheaper than a bigger house runs the sums. For a 25 sq ft unit, the median (middle value) of the listed prices is about £78 per four weeks, and about £143 for 50 sq ft, before any introductory offer (September 2026 lists). Nothing is added at checkout: the total in your quote is what you pay, and our prices include VAT.
Small businesses and traders
About a quarter of customers in the 2026 report were businesses. The 2025 report says storage is "commonly used by small businesses as they expand and move from being home businesses to something larger", and that "around a quarter of the businesses that use self storage operate solely from their self storage unit". That describes the industry, not what our terms allow. Clause 22 of our agreement says you will use the unit "solely for the purpose of storage", and clause 22(a) says you mustn't "use the Unit as offices or living accommodation or as a home, business or mailing address". Customers can't come to your unit to browse or buy: our pick-pack guide rules out using it "as a shopfront where customers come to browse or collect". A one-off collection of something already sold, overseen by you or someone you authorise, is possible only if you ask us first (see can I sell from my storage unit?). For packing orders, see can I pack orders in my storage unit?, and ask us before you book if you plan to do more than store stock and collect it.
Start with business storage and is it legal to run a business from a self storage unit?
Storing for someone else
A lot of storage is booked on someone else's behalf. The figures above don't show this separately, but our guides cover the common cases:
| If you're storing for… | Start with |
|---|---|
| A student, over the summer or between halls and a house share | Student storage and booking student storage without the student |
| An estate, as an executor or family member | Clearing an inherited house and who pays for storage while an estate is sorted out |
| A parent moving into care | Storing a parent's belongings when they move into care |
If you'll be the one signing, see can someone else sign the storage agreement?
Already storing, and wondering if that's normal
If you've had a unit for longer than you meant to, you're in good company: in the 2026 customer survey, the largest single group (23.2%) had been in their unit one to two years, and long stays are common (see the table above). The report doesn't break length of stay down by age or by reason for storing.
If your plans have changed, see can I keep my storage unit longer than planned? If it's become a fixture, it may be worth checking whether you still need the same size: see how to keep your storage costs down.
How to read these figures
The SSA UK report is the industry association's own annual survey. It's useful, with limits:
- The figures are UK-wide. Our sites are in England (see our locations page to find your nearest site), and a local mix can differ from the national one.
- The 2026 survey had 232 respondents. The 2025 survey had 1,253, sent to the main contact on each contract and answered voluntarily.
- The domestic and business split is counted by customer, not by space, so a business with a large unit counts once.
- They aren't our own figures. We don't publish a breakdown of our own customers. If you want to know whether people in your situation use a particular site, call us on 0800 2545585.
Find the guide for your situation
If you know which group you're in, the guides above are the place to start. If you're ready to see what a unit costs near you, find your nearest site or get a price online.
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