UK shoppers not sold on drones
Less than a third (30%) of UK shoppers want to see their online shopping purchases delivered by drones, according to a new survey. Give as you Live, the charitable shopping website which commissioned the study, said: “The top concern cited by 36% of respondents was the issue of people stealing their deliveries from drones. This concern isn’t unfounded as one in 20 (5%) admitted that they would consider stealing a package when a drone is landing. An additional one in 20 (5%) also said they would be tempted to break a drone that they notice delivering a package.”
The survey also found that UK shoppers are not convinced that drones up to the job: nearly a third (31%) raised the issue of difficulty with large items and a fifth (22%) said they were concerned about deliveries going to the wrong place. On the plus side, more than 40% thought drones could help to make deliveries faster, and that they could be a boon in “isolated and remote places.”
The respondents were asked which retailers they would like to see using drones and Amazon was out in front with two-thirds of the vote.
Commenting on the survey, Greg Hallett, Managing Director at Give as you Live, said: “It’s clear that people are still very wary of drones delivering their online goods. 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.
“This is very much a case of shoppers becoming more comfortable with the technology. As online shopping continues to grow steadily, which we see through our website data, there will continue to be innovations in delivery to deal with the demand.”
