Drone Delivery Services Lack Popularity With Customers

Amazon, Google, FedEx and Domino’s are all testing drone programs to take over the delivery service, but in a new report from Give as you Live, less than 30 per cent would use the unmanned vehicles for online shopping delivery.

People stealing deliveries appears to be the biggest issue, with 36 per cent concerned that may become a regular occurrence. It is not out of the question this would happen, with five per cent claiming they would be tempted to steal a package and track the drone.

The problem with this assumption is that the drone delivers at a time that is suitable for the customer. That means when you have an hour free, you will be able to press ‘deliver to my door’ and have a drone deliver the package. The app will track the movement and notify the customer when the delivery arrives.

There are other concerns, 31 per cent are worried about drones carrying large or heavy items and 22 per cent are worried about the delivery going to the wrong address. For the latter, Amazon has tracking so you know where the drone is, plus we expect they will add “safe spots” for the drone to land.

Drones carrying large objects might take Amazon a bit of time to figure out. Domino’s showed a UAV carrying a pizza in one of their hot-bags, but for items like 55-inch TVs and furniture we might see a move back to convention services.

“It’s clear that people are still very wary of drones delivering their online goods,” said Greg Hallett, Managing Director at Give as you Live. “The main drawback is the security of their purchases and at the moment the majority are planning not to use them despite knowing the benefits of faster and wider spread delivery.”

Even with the scepticism on drone delivery services, 42 per cent believe drones will provide faster delivery and offer delivery to more remote locations.

When asked which retailers they would like to see utilise drones, Amazon was by far the favourite with 66 per cent voting for the e-commerce giant. Argos came in second with 22 per cent, Tesco third with 13 per cent and Boots and ASDA tied for fourth with 10 per cent each.