Explorage.com, the recently launched online marketplace for self storage, has announced the release of a new and improved platform.

After successfully raising funds in the autumn, the Anglesey-based company set to work soft-launching the first version of the site. This new platform, however, marks the first big milestone for the team. 

With an estimated turnover of £48 billion annually, the global storage market is big business. There are approximately 27,000 new storage bookings each month in the UK alone yet finding, comparing and reserving the right supplier has previously been inconsistent and long-winded.

Explorage.com’s CEO and founder, Anna Roberts said, “Since launching we have been intensely listening to storage operators and customers sharing their experience, problems, and ideas about how both we, and the industry as a whole, could be improved. This gives us meaningful insight to create innovative solutions and improvements, that deliver real value. We soft launched in November with what we called ‘version 0.9’. We knew we’d quickly outgrow it, hence the name, and wanted to be led by our customers on how to improve it. The new ‘version 1.0’ is a big leap forward in terms of user experience and technical capabilities and puts Explorage on a great footing from which to continue to learn and build.”

The most obvious change to the new site is its fresh new look, designed to be simple, friendly and intuitive. One of the most significant technical improvements to the site is the experience for storage operators listing their facility. They can now do this themselves in a matter of minutes. By simply adding a few details, the Explorage platform pulls data from a variety of sources to speed up the process, and the user is swiftly led through the steps. Once live, their storage space is accessible to anyone visiting Explorage.com to make a reservation instantly. 

Anna explained, “A big difference with Explorage is speed. We understand that customers don’t want to be waiting around for a quote or availability. Instead on Explorage, they simply see what is available, at what price, and make a reservation there and then. This difference is also significant for storage operators receiving the reservation as it means they can capture more customers from a wider demographic, any time, day or night.”

Another significant improvement to the site is the ability for storage operators to add and edit their own unique FAQs and selling points, and for storage customers to be able to see these at a glance. Anna notes, “We know that differentiation and limited customer experience are among some of the UK storage industry’s concerns – and they are very valid points. Such challenges are a great opportunity for us to create and test various solutions, that in the longer term can only help to grow the industry and customer understanding as they become more effective.”

The new Explorage.com platform is being welcomed by storage operators across the country. Dean Daley, Commercial Operations Manager at Blue Self Storage in Cardiff said, “The new Explorage.com site looks great, and we’re looking forward to hopefully reaping the future benefits that the platform offers operators within the storage industry.”

Anna concluded, “We are thrilled to launch the new Explorage.com platform and continue our mission of making life easier for everybody. I’m so proud of our team who reflect everything we are about. They never tire of innovating and striving to deliver the best results for our rapidly growing storage operator network and customers, and we’re incredibly excited to be continuing our journey with them.”

Photos (top to bottom):
Explorage.com’s CEO and founder Anna Roberts.
The new site is designed to be simple, friendly and intuitive.