Bill Crooker, president and CEO of STAG Industrial (NYSE: STAG), sat down for a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2026 Investor Conference in New York, June 1-4.
E-commerce continues to support demand for industrial real estate, Crooker said. He noted that first quarter sales there reached "the largest percentage of e-commerce retail sales in the history of e-commerce" at 16.9%, underscoring the sector's continued long-term growth.
While tenants continue to prioritize access to transportation networks and population centers, Crooker said one requirement has become increasingly important: power.
"It's the same characteristics they've been prioritizing before—access to transportation, population," he said. "The one new criteria they're looking for is more power, especially as they manufacture more goods and provide robotics within their warehouse space."
Looking ahead, Crooker said the industrial sector remains closely tied to broader economic conditions. Rather than focusing on property-specific metrics alone, he is watching macroeconomic trends that influence investment and tenant activity across commercial real estate.
"It's really macro trends," Crooker said. "What's going on geopolitically, what's going on with interest rates, and consumer sentiment."