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Consumers embracing prospect of drone deliveries

Nearly half of consumers are ready for drone deliveries, which could revolutionise the ‘last-mile’ delivery process, new research finds.

Robot developed by Starship Technologies
Courier firm Hermes is actually trialling self-driving delivery robots as an alternative to drones.

The social survey of over 3,000 respondents by Teletrac Navman found 46% said they’d be “amazed” if their next delivery was made by drone and that they totally “love the idea”.

The poll uncovered some mixed reactions though, with around 12% saying they’d be sad to wave goodbye to conventional delivery methods while 5% said they’d be angry about it and considered drones to be a destructive technology which is contributing to “doing every man and women out of a job”, with some saying they would “cease to shop online” if it became reality.

The research also revealed 36% of respondents said they’d be shocked by the prospect of drone deliveries becoming a reality, finding the notion surreal, with one person suggesting “it’ll never happen.”

Peter Millichap, UK marketing director at Teletrac Navman, said: “It is really interesting to think about the impact drones could have on our industry. The ‘last mile’ in the delivery process is often the most expensive, in terms of mileage and time, so fleet managers may even look to integrate drones into their fleets to make significant business improvements in the future.”

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Written by Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.

Natalie edits all the Fleet World websites and newsletters, and loves to hear about any latest industry news.

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