Coles Group expands drone delivery pilot programme Down Under

Off the back of a pilot in Canberra, Australia earlier this year, Coles Group is expanding its drone delivery programme with operator Wing to its Gold Coast customers.

It says that it will be the first major supermarket to launch a store to door drone delivery concept in Australia.

From this week, customers in the Gold Coast suburbs of Ormeau, Ormeau Hills, and Yatala will be able to the try out the new model, directly from the Coles store at Ormeau Village Shopping Centre.

The service will gradually expand to include other nearby suburbs, delivering 500 of the most popular Coles grocery items including bread, fresh produce, convenience meals, snacks, health care items, and household essentials. 

These will be delivered to customers’ home within 10 minutes on average.

Coles team members will process and pack orders, and Wing staff will load the drones and oversee operation of the delivery service. 

Customers can download the Wing app (available from the App Store or Google Play), enter their address, and add items to their cart before submitting their order for fulfilment.

Upon arrival, the drone hovers in the air and slowly lowers the package to the ground at the customer’s delivery location.

Coles Head of Network Development and Customer Delivery, James Geddes, comments: “This new service reinforces our commitment to enhancing the way our customers shop with Coles by delivering anytime, anywhere, anyhow shopping while supporting our ambition to be Australia’s most sustainable supermarket by continuing to reduce the number of trucks on the road.”