Getting products from A to B has always been an issue for anyone in business. It used to be the case that you had to buy products through a channel. In the good old days, stores like Sears, Kmart, Walmart and Bloomingdales were the channels of choice. Today, businesses all over are taking advantage of new channels. Channels that didn’t exist a few years ago are dominant.

For home furnishings, Direct Buy, and Wayfair are growing quickly. The Ottawa based company Shopify is also playing an important role in the transition from the bricks and mortar retail channel to the e-commerce economy. Shopify now hosts more than 1.2 million ecommerce stores on its platform.

While Amazon is the largest channel for e-commerce, it charges a hefty percentage for retailers who can often double their net profit margins if items a sold and shipped through their own channel.

Last week, commercial brokerage house JLL gave its updated guidance for the industrial sector for 3Q 2021. On today’s show we’re taking a closer look at the data.