livery market, which is forecasted to grow to US$63.6 billion by 2025, according to ResearchAndMarkets. And, according to KFC’s managing director and CEO Drew O’Malley, the technology is only going to improve from here.  “While it’s a novelty now, in five to ten years’ time, you’ll not think twice about it – just like we do now with ApplePay, tap’n’go, or contactless delivery, which didn’t exist a few years ago,” O’Malley told Inside Retail.  “Even with all our planning, our initial trial run exceeded my expectations. Early signs are that it has reduced our end-to-end delivery times by more than half, and in quick-service restaurants (QSR), every minute counts.” O’Malley said drone delivery fits “hand-in-glove” with KFC’s digital and delivery strategy, and will be a huge driver for the brand and the category.  “Easy to see the future problems” However, Swinburne University’s professor of marketing Sean Sands argues that drone delivery in its current form is far more useful for brand building than its actual functionality. “Being first to market with innovative technologies has a halo effect that makes customers see the brand as cutting edge or as a market leader,” Sands told Inside Retail.  It can create a better customer experience for people in remote or hard-to-reach locations, but drones have limitations in their use and what they can carry, Sands said, and autonomous vehicle delivery is “likely to become more commonplace before drones for everyday deliveries”. There are also legal restrictions relating to flight paths and privacy that must be overcome for the technology to become widely adopted and accepted, as well as improvements to the technology’s AI. Such improvements include how the technology could integrate into route and pathway access, effective sense-and-avoid systems to avoid failure, adequate recharge and restock locations, as well as bottlenecks and complications in legislation in each market, Macquarie Business School’s professor Jana Bowden told Inside Retail. “Even the impact on local environments [is of concern] – Canberra’s drone operations have been hampered by bird attacks. It’s easy to see how drones work in open spaces and far-flung low-density locations, but it’s harder to see how this will work in dense and congested metro spaces – and it’s hard to see how airspace approvals will be given for this,” Bowden said. “It’s easy to see the future problems now.” Environmental benefits It’s not only customer convenience driving the push to utilise drones – it’s also part of a healthy, environmentally-sustainable delivery system, argued Roll’d chief executive Bao Hoang. According to the Climate Change Authority Australia, 16 per cent of Australia’s overall emissions are released through transport – 57 per cent of which comes from commercial vehicles. “Through our partnership with Wing, Roll’d will be a key player alongside other businesses to reduce the costs of infrastructure on roads and slash congestion,” Hoang said.  “With drone delivery technology having the potential to replace 2.3 billion Australian vehicle kilometres each year by 2030, we’ll see huge national reductions in CO2 emissions.” Following the onset of the pandemic and the rise of contact deliveryless, the pandemic has undeniably led to a rise in interest in the technology. “On-demand drone delivery has achieved lift-off, thanks to pandemic stay-at-home restrictions, consumer awareness of social distancing and the parallel interest in contactless delivery options,” Bowden said. “In Australia, Wing’s growth has continued despite Covid restrictions easing and last year, the company reported a five-fold growth in usage. Drone delivery at this stage looks to be a promising complementary method of delivery to traditional options.  “Looking forward, it’s really a matter of ‘watch this (air)space’,” said Bowden.