Picking up your shopping could be about to change because Tesco has started to trial home delivery by drone, with shoppers in Oranmore, Galway, the first to test the service.
The retailer has teamed up with drone delivery company Manna - an aviation-grade business-to-business drone delivery platform - for the trial and it will run for several months within a 2km radius of the store in Oranmore.
The project is being led by Tesco’s Group Innovation Team and it will offer on-demand small basket deliveries to customers from its Oranmore store.
In terms of the customer experience, shoppers can order deliveries through a dedicated website, where an initial range of 700 products will be available.
The order will then be packed by an in-store Tesco employee, with delivery managed by a Manna drone supervisor. For those interested, drone orders will be available from 9.30am-5pm from Tuesday to Sunday. The orders can also be tracked in real-time, with purchases delivered within 30 minutes to one hour of ordering. Customers will also receive an alert when the delivery is near.
Flying at 50mph (80km/h), the drones can deliver up to 4kg (9lb) of shopping - in a cargo cassette lowered from the drone.
Catherine Swift, store manager of Tesco Oranmore, said she was delighted to be involved in the trial. “We’re continually looking for new ways to serve our customers a little better and this trial is an opportunity to look at meeting demand for small basket shops and quick delivery. We’re looking forward to seeing how our customers in the Oranmore area respond to the service.”
