E-commerce continues to grow at a steady pace in Spain and remains a key driver of the biggest logistics transformation seen in the past decade. The CBRE European Logistics Outlook 2025 report notes that demand for logistics space in Europe stays above pre-pandemic levels, largely propelled by e-commerce, which continues to solidify as one of the sector’s main engines. In fact, in Spain, e-commerce penetration stands at roughly 11–12% of retail sales, according to Savills’ Spain e-retail 2025 index, still below more mature markets like the United Kingdom, where it exceeds 25%, per figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics.
This evolution is creating constant pressure on existing facilities, in a market characterized by land scarcity and aging logistics stock. As a result, a new operating model is taking shape, featuring greater automation, higher energy capacity, improved ESG efficiency, and spaces prepared for cross-docking and advanced storage, such as cold-storage facilities.
Accolade identifies this shift as the emergence of a new era: industrial parks capable of integrating technology, urban distribution, and operational efficiency.
Transformation of the logistics model and pressure on supply
The rise of e-commerce, accelerated by the pandemic, is transforming the entire supply chain in Spain and signaling a turning point for the logistics real estate market. The sustained surge in shipments and the push toward 24-hour delivery are forcing a redesign of facilities, an expansion of last-mile space, and stronger automation.
Moreover, this pressure is intensified by growth in sectors such as groceries, pharma, electronics, and fashion, where inventory turnover is especially high and delivery speed has become an operational standard.
However, the current supply still isn’t aligned with these new demands. According to recent reports from JLL and CBRE, more than 55% of warehouses in Spain are over 20 years old, underscoring an insufficient logistics stock to meet today’s needs.
New requirements: automation, urban logistics, and territorial reconfiguration
In this context, e-commerce is establishing itself as the primary driver of change in development models for logistics and industry. Current operations require facilities ready for automation, intelligent sorting systems, temperature-controlled zones, dedicated returns areas, and spaces capable of absorbing demand spikes. Likewise, the sector agrees that e-commerce logistics requires significantly more space than traditional retail due to greater operational complexity and the need to manage larger inventories.
On the other hand, urban logistics has become a key axis. 60% of Spanish consumers expect 24-hour deliveries, according to Sendcloud, which obliges strengthening logistic centers within roughly 20 to 30 kilometers of major urban cores and developing hybrid parks that combine regional distribution with last-mile capabilities.
In parallel, the revaluation of land in emerging markets is shaping a new logistics map. Regions such as Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Andalucía, and the Valencian Community are gaining prominence by offering better conditions for larger-scale projects with greater development capacity.
New generation assets and sector response
This shift in demand is driving the development of a new generation of logistics warehouses, featuring higher energy capacities, optimized clear heights, expanded loading zones, and ESG criteria integrated from design onward.
Certifications such as BREEAM or LEED, along with solutions like on-site solar generation, smart monitoring systems, and decarbonization strategies, are becoming industry standards. Deloitte and CBRE reports indicate that the new stock will be increasingly oriented toward digital operations and build-to-suit models.
Against this backdrop, Accolade is driving industrial park developments in Spain designed to meet these new needs. Their projects integrate spaces with high energy efficiency, flexible modules, and readiness for advanced automation.
Highlighted projects include Valencia–Alzira Park, Park Vitoria West, and Murcia Park, located along strategic corridors for regional and national distribution.
“Ecommerce is rewriting the relationship between logistics, technology, and territory. Companies need assets that not only solve current operations but also enable them to anticipate increasingly short innovation cycles. That’s the new frontier of logistics in Spain, and that’s where we’re concentrating our developments,” says Eduardo Feliciano, Business Director of Accolade in Spain.
Challenges and outlook for the Spanish logistics market
Nevertheless, industry growth remains conditioned by the scarcity of prime land in key markets, lengthy permitting processes, and the aging stock. This situation is driving many operators to explore alternative markets with more land and development capacity.
In this sense, Spain positions itself as one of Europe’s markets with the greatest logistic potential, thanks to its strategic location, connectivity, and sustained growth in digital consumption. For Accolade, priorities include pushing assets prepared for advanced automation, regenerating obsolete industrial land, and strengthening the link between regional hubs and major distribution corridors.
“Spain has a unique opportunity to consolidate a logistics network tailored to the growth of e-commerce and the digitization of consumption. The key is to accelerate the modernization of stock and develop projects capable of responding to Logistics 4.0, where efficiency, sustainability, and technology are inseparable,” concludes Feliciano
