Worldwide internet connectivity continues to grow, demonstrating technology’s influence on shifting buying behavior from instore to online. Digital marketplaces are playing a huge role in evolving desires for ‘convenience’, in addition to furthering demand. Consumption online has evolved the necessity of convenience and created an ‘on-demand’ economy, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The company’s 2019 Q3 Global Consumer Survey found that 61% of consumers are interested in and actively buy products that help ‘save time and effort’. Furthermore, GlobalData’s report, ‘ForeSights: Food Delivery by Drones – Using drones to conveniently bring food to consumers’ reveals that changes in consumption habits and occasions have made fast home delivery an important addition to brand relationships. In the coming years, delivery drones may become increasingly commonplace to facilitate growing consumer demand.

George Henry, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Technologies such as optical tracking and location precision can help devices deliver food and packages to consumers while potentially reducing costs and increasing delivery speed.”

In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, ‘contactless deliveries’ hold a significant and perhaps previously underestimated advantage on safety. With quarantine measures now in effect in many countries across the world, the sanitation benefits from drone deliveries make these devices an ideal component to deliver goods. The panic buying of hand sanitizers and toiletries underlines natural desires for goods in the anticipation of closed supermarkets.

Henry continues: “Drone deliveries avoid human-to-human transmission, and can cut out time inefficiencies when automation is scaled up. Another added benefit includes reaching a wider range of consumers that may live too remotely for convenient traditional shopping.”

On the other hand, a greater willingness for tech-enabled services presents a number of challenges. Excessive surveillance is a privacy concern that has links to the need for greater data protection. Consumer mistrust of ‘big tech’ is a key concern, particularly after some notorious breaches in recent years.

Henry adds: “Brands must be attuned to sensitivities over data rights, while actively seeking advancements to meet growing desires to cut time and effort. Convenience is a key driver behind decision making, and only bound to grow as Internet of Things (IoT) becomes increasingly integrated. The COVID-19 outbreak has presented drone deliveries with another use opportunity, and it remains to be seen how adoption will be accelerated within consumer lifestyles.”