Dispatches from Australia: Supermarket drones; a delivery every 25 seconds; 200,000 deliveries

If you want to see what the future of delivery looks like, come to Australia where summer is turning to fall (or Autumn as they say!) and you can have a banh mi, band aids, or fried chicken brought to you by a drone. For residents in Canberra and Logan, drone delivery has been an added convenience for some time now. But lately, it’s becoming a growing part of many people’s daily routines. 

Starting in Canberra, Wing customers can now order up to 250 items from one of Australia’s largest supermarket chains, Coles. With everything from bread, fresh produce, snacks, meals, health care items, kitchen essentials, and even toilet paper available to be delivered by drone in minutes, the daily routine of going to the grocery store is getting less routine-y. No more getting in the car to sit in traffic, searching the aisles to find what you need with a few kids in tow, or waiting in the queue to pay. Now you can select what you need when you need it and have a drone bring it to your front door.

Drone delivery has become increasingly integrated into the lives of Australians over the past few years. In 2021, Wing completed just over 100,000 drone deliveries in Australia. In just the first two months of 2022, we’ve already surpassed 30,000. And that momentum is only increasing. Recently, we had our busiest week ever, making more than 1,000 deliveries in a single day (that's a delivery every 25 seconds). We’ve now crossed 200,000 all-time commercial deliveries across our global markets.

This momentum is being propelled by a strong list of partners in Australia who are seeing firsthand the value that drone delivery can bring. Earlier this year, Wing launched a partnership with the popular Vietnamese chain Roll’d, so customers can get a Bȧnh mi or a delicious Bao via drone in minutes. And after widespread customer demand – it was the #1 requested merchant  to add to the service – Wing has also partnered with Kentucky Fried Chicken (AU) in Australia to deliver a range of hot and fresh menu items direct to homes and workplaces. With other partners like Friendly Grocer offering rapid COVID-19 tests, and St. John Ambulance QLD providing first aid kits, it’s becoming a lot easier to get a lot more things delivered by drone in Canberra and Logan.

Integrating drone delivery into daily life isn’t just an added convenience. It holds the promise to reduce traffic congestion, accidents, and greenhouse gas emissions while growing sales for businesses all the while giving people more time back in their busy lives. If you want a peek into that future, just look to Australia.