That’s the prediction of parcel broker ParcelHero, which says that deliveries will become the new retail battlefront, with customer-friendly delivery options ranking as important as price for many consumers.
ParcelHero’s head of customer research, David Jinks, said: “We believe seemingly ‘sci-fi’ delivery methods are nearer than most people think. Driverless deliveries may sound like something out of I Robot, but in fact will be happening in London this year. Greenwich’s streets will soon see the eerie sight of driverless vans operating a predetermined route, moving parcels between either warehouses and shops or stores and homes.
“The vehicles will be autonomous, and may serve a large distribution centre and the O2 Arena. However, whilst control of the vans is entirely automatic, ParcelHero expects there will be a person in the van to ensure the operation runs smoothly and to take control in the case of an emergency.”
Jinks also said that drones could appear in UK skies far sooner than has been previously predicted. Last year Amazon approached the UK Government about developing drones in the UK to deliver items here and in December 2015 Amazon boss Jeff Bezos revealed: “One of the regulatory agencies that's moving fastest on this is the UK, so it's possible that drone deliveries will start first in the UK.”
Finally, Jinks also predicts the return of old fashioned pedal power for deliveries: “The Royal Mail controversially phased out postie’s bikes in 2014, and the famous red Pashley Mailstar cycle found itself recycled. Ironically, this ‘modernisation’ come at a time when the green delivery movement is growing; and cargo bikes will become increasingly popular with operators for last mile deliveries – particularly in cycle-friendly towns and cities such as Cambridge.”
