Amazon has revealed that yesterday (2 December) was its busiest day for online orders yet, with shoppers placing an estimated 47 orders per second in the UK. This, plus a record-breaking ‘Black Friday’ last week, means that parcel carriers delivering goods on its behalf are likely to be in for a busy Christmas as predicted.
But Amazon has its sights set on getting its parcels delivered by ways other than road in future. On the same day as receiving 4.1m orders from UK consumers, the retailer said it had started to trial deliveries by drones in the United States.
Is this really the future of home delivery? Amazon claims the use of drones it will enable it to deliver an item in around 30 minutes of ordering, but can they really replace traditional trucks and vans?
It’s difficult to tell whether drone deliveries are an idea that Amazon is genuinely considering, especially as it revealed the news during its busiest weekend of the year on prime-time American television. The Hub is skeptical. Is Amazon just using this to keep itself in the forefront of consumers’ minds as they do their Christmas shopping?
But parcel carriers do not have anything to fear currently. It could be years before the US permits the use of unmanned aircraft by those other than the government, and even if this does go ahead, Amazon will still need permission to use them in the UK. For now the parcels sector can rest knowing that they still have the privilege of ensuring that items reach consumers’ front doors securely, without competing against a machine.