Are drones needed? No. Should drones be used by Walmart, Amazon and other retailers? Yes.

Last week, Amazon announced that customers in the UK, Italy and an additional US city will have the option to get their packages delivered by a Prime Air drone beginning in late 2024.

Specific cities in the US and abroad will be named in the coming months.

David Carbon, Vice President of Amazon’s Prime Air, said: “As part of our continued efforts to innovate for customers, we are excited to announce the expansion of Prime Air delivery internationally, for the first time outside the US.”

“We have been delivering packages by drone for almost a year in California and in Texas. We have built a safe, reliable delivery service and have partnered very closely with regulators and communities.”

“We will continue with that collaboration into the future to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers and the communities we serve.”

This inspired Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive, to take to LinkedIn to give his thoughts on drones and their use by retailers.

He commented: “I spent time this morning watching drone tests at a Walmart store located in Frisco, TX.”

“I’ve witnessed multiple drone tests but I have to rank Wing at the top of the list in terms of the companies with the best drones and process for using their app to place an order. Make sure to turn up your volume so you can hear the drone as it takes off. The drone makes a sound that's similar to a remote controlled car.”

“All of the major drone companies have been working hard to reduce the noise. I used to refer to drones as "flying leaf blowers" due to how loud they were.”

“I sat in my vehicle with the windows up and I couldn't hear the drones when they flew over me. Most people in a neighbourhood would never hear the drones from inside their homes. This means using them for delivery won't be resisted by consumers.”

The drones fly 150 feet above the ground and when they arrive at a customer, they hover 23 feet above the ground and lower a tether that releases the package in the desired delivery area. Customers do not have to release the package. In fact, they aren't required to touch anything on the drone.

Ladd said: “Although the drones take off, fly, and return to the Drone Airport autonomously, there is a trained human pilot watching. One pilot monitors 15 drones. I believe AI will eventually remove the requirement for human pilots to be involved.”

He added: “Are drones needed? No. All of the products being delivered by drones can easily be delivered by a gig worker in a vehicle or an employee in a van.”

“However, should drones be used by Walmart and other retailers? Yes. Absolutely. Walmart wants to fulfil 30% of all online orders from their stores. Fulfilling an online order for drone delivery is no different than fulfilling an online order for delivery via a gig worker.”

“The only thing that's different is that instead of an order being picked up by a driver, the product being delivered is taken to the drone airport located at the store where it is attached to a tether for delivery by the drone.”

The average package weighs 2.6 pounds. Eventually, drones will be able to carry and deliver heavier packages. Due to the low cost and ease of using drones for delivery, they will eventually become a great complement to established last mile delivery programmes already in place, Ladd believes.