As Amazon endeavors to accomplish 10,000 drone deliveries in Europe this year and Walmart sets plans to extend drone delivery services to an extra 60,000 homes in the United States, there’s a surge in research and development investments in drone delivery by various companies.
Yet, the question remains: Are consumers prepared to embrace this shift as the new normal?
Automated deliveries
Researchers from Northwestern University’s Mobility and Behavior Lab sought to understand if consumers were open to the idea of robots replacing delivery drivers through automated vehicles, drones, and robots. The team discovered that, on a societal level, there is work needed to reshape public perceptions regarding this imminent technological change.
“We need to think really carefully about the effect of these new technologies on people and communities, and to tune in to what they think about these changes,” the researchers explain.
The researchers identified a “complex and multifaceted” relationship between behavior and the acceptance of imminent technologies for automated parcel delivery.
Open to change
Generally, people showed more willingness to accept an automated vehicle as a substitute for a delivery person, possibly because there’s already familiarity with self-driving cars. However, drones and robots were less favored options. Interestingly, as the speed of delivery increased and prices dropped, people became more open to accepting these technologies.
Moreover, the study revealed that individuals with a higher level of tech-savviness were more accepting of these near-future technologies compared to those less familiar with the technology.
The researchers suggest that shipping and logistics centers should be a focal point in city planning and design, underscoring their importance in the integration of these evolving technologies.
Tackling the paradox
“There’s a paradox: We’re having a hard time reconciling the convenience and the benefit of getting speedy, efficient delivery with its consequences, like poor labor conditions in warehouses, air pollution and congested streets,” the authors explain. “We don’t really see that other role that we play as citizens or as users of the city. And one role is directly affecting the other role, and we are both. With automated delivery, we could reduce some of these issues.”
The researchers emphasized that while the prospect of new delivery methods is exciting, we haven’t reached a societal readiness for widespread adoption. As companies increasingly turn to drone deliveries, driven by both labor shortages and the inability of existing systems to handle the sheer volume of e-commerce deliveries, the researchers caution that these innovations may stumble due to a lack of public acceptance.
They suggest that shipping and logistics centers should take a central role in city planning and design, as seen in some European cities, acknowledging their significance for quality of life. Policymakers also need to be part of the conversation, especially as more drones enter the airspace and labor dynamics shift. The researchers emphasize that success in this field requires companies to consolidate their unique systems.
“On the planning side, we need to make sure that we embrace the fact that the massive amount of deliveries is going to shape our cities,” they conclude. “Collaboration, coordination, and information sharing between companies has been a running challenge — but it’s not going to work if everyone has their own technology. It just destroys the purpose and builds redundant and overlapping systems.”
