The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) might not be ready for drone deliveries, but Americans are.
According to the “2015 Future of Retail Study” by Walker Sands Communications, 66 percent of consumers in the United States expect to receive a package delivered by a drone in the next five years.
This online survey of more than 1,400 U.S. consumers was certainly done before the FAA effectively banned drone delivery in the US earlier in February, so maybe the numbers would have changed slightly, but 80 percent of consumers who took this survey say retailers that offer drone delivery will be more likely to get their business.
Related: 10 Reasons You Need Drone Delivery
According to the survey, 14 percent of US consumers believe drone deliveries will start within a year, 22 percent think it will happen by 2017, and 30 percent think it will start within five years.
Only 23 percent of those surveyed aren’t interested in drone delivery, meaning “rapid delivery by air is fertile ground for retailers like Amazon that plan to push the limits of fast delivery” as the survey says. So what do the consumers want delivered by drones:
- 75% want books delivered
- 73% want clothes delivered
- 54% are interested in pet supplies
- 45% are in favor of tools
- 44% sporting goods and household goods
- 32% general consumer electronics
Unfortunately, a set of proposed rules for small commercial drones from the FAA states drones must remain within the line-of-sight of the operator. The proposed rules are only a draft at this point, and they will be open for public commentary.
The US is far behind in this drone space. Alibaba recently used a drone to deliver tea in China, a pizza shop in Russia made a 30-minute delivery by drone, and a drone in South Africa dropped off beer to concertgoers.
Image Credit: Walker Sands Communications
