Hippo’s Affordable Mordialloc Self Storage During the Cost-of-Living Crisis

Hippo Self Storage in Mordialloc, near Moorabbin Airport, offers affordable shipping container storage in 8ft, 10ft and 20ft sizes, starting from $150 per calendar month for an 8ft container. Our low rates and flexible offering are real points of difference during the current cost-of-living crisis.

Is self storage still in demand during the cost-of-living crisis?

With many customers utilising Hippo’s affordable container storage units at our Mordialloc self storage site, we get the opportunity to talk to a lot of people and hear about their experiences and perspectives. And it’s fair to say that times are challenging for many Australians at the moment. Persistent inflation has resulted in several interest rate rises with the Reserve Bank of Australia today expected to raise rates for the fifth time this year to 4.85%. The cause? Several factors have underpinned the inflationary pressures including the war in Iran (increasing the price of oil and subsequently fuel at the bowser), low productivity growth and the artificial intelligence (AI) build-out. It’s effectively a double-whammy for households and businesses as they pay both more for general outgoings and higher mortgage/loan repayments at the same time.

It would be logical to think that the cost-of-living crisis has dampened demand for self storage in Melbourne and Australia more broadly. However, a quote from self storage operator Con Tragakis in the Australian Financial Review on 29th October 2026 gave us pause for thought. He said that “it’s really that life events drive demand for self-storage, not necessarily economic cycles.” The takeaway for us from this is that other factors may be more influential in affecting the demand for storage than the state of the economy and inflation. For instance, matters such as demographic changes, population growth and housing shortages may be more significant. As a result, demand for self storage may remain robust.

Today we wanted to show how Hippo Self Storage’s shipping container storage in Mordialloc, near Moorabbin Airport, is an affordable solution for people who still need storage despite the cost-of-living crisis.

Why is Hippo Self Storage affordable?

Hippo Self Storage prides itself on being an affordable self storage provider at its Mordialloc site. At the time of writing, our rates start from $150 per calendar month for an 8ft container.

There are several reasons why we are able to offer affordable storage rates. Our use of high-quality, “new-build” shipping containers as storage units is cheaper than buying and fitting out a warehouse for self storage. This translates to a low-cost operating model where we are able to charge lower storage rates than many of our competitors. Furthermore, Hippo is a family-owned and operated business. There are no franchise royalties or licence fees that need to be paid. Cutting out this additional cost means that we are able to offer customers lower storage prices. Add to this our desire to maximise our occupancy by offering lower rates rather than holding out for higher prices and having more vacancies. This means that we are generally always operating close to full capacity – although there is naturally some turnover with customers, for example, moving into new homes or returning from overseas etc. The sum of all of this is that we are able to offer competitive storage rates.

Another important point is that our range of shipping container sizes means that customers don’t need to pay for excess space that they don’t need. We have three sizes including 8ft, 10ft and 20ft shipping containers. So, for example, if you need to store the contents of a one-bedroom apartment, the 8ft or 10ft container may be sufficient to store all of your goods. You thereby save by not having to pay unnecessarily for a larger unit meaning that there is more money left over to spend on other necessities and the things that matter.

Our flexibility with storage arrangements is also beneficial during the cost-of-living crisis. At Hippo, you only pay for the time that you actually store meaning that there’s no wastage. To illustrate, say you have paid for storage until the end of a given month. If your circumstances change and you end up vacating a week before the end of that month, we will refund the excess storage fees that have been paid. At a time when people are trying to manage their outgoings as much as possible, it’s a very small way to help make life a little easier. Similarly, if customers want to upsize or downsize their storage unit during their occupancy, we will try and accommodate this as smoothly as possible without additional charges.

On a practical level, we are also happy to assist customers with tips on how to maximise the space in their storage unit by packing it in the most efficient way possible. Having been operating for over 13 years, we have learned a few things along the way! For further information on this, see our blog post: Five Tips for Packing for Self Storage! And if you have any questions or wish to discuss your storage requirements, please feel free to CONTACT US at any time. We would be delighted to assist.