Coles has expanded its grocery delivery to the sky with the launch of a new drone delivery service in Canberra.
The leading supermarket chain has partnered with global on-demand drone delivery service, Wing, to operate the pilot in the nation’s capital.
The drone delivery pilot will offer a selected range of over 250 items including bread, fresh produce, snacks, convenience meals and more.
Customers can order via the Wing app and in a matter of minutes a drone will arrive and slowly lower the order to the ground at the customer’s delivery location for a contactless delivery.
Coles chief executive e-commerce Ben Hassing said drone delivery was the next evolution in delivery technology and would support Coles’ ambition to be Australia’s most sustainable supermarket by reducing the number of trucks on the road.
“We are passionate about finding innovative ways to help our customers to shop with us and we aim to deliver anytime, anywhere, anyhow shopping,” Hassing said.
“By partnering with Wing, we’re able to offer our online customers another convenient option to purchase the Coles items they know and love and get them delivered straight to their door.”
Simon Rossi, general manager of Wing Australia said, shared Hassing’s enthusiasm for the new service.
“Whether you’ve run out of milk and eggs for breakfast, forgotten to pick up a loaf of bread for school lunches, or are just after a fresh ‘grab and go’ snack, customers in our delivery service area in Canberra can now get those urgent items they need in a hurry, delivered by drone,” said Rossi.
“In the last year, we’ve seen a significant increase in use of our on-demand drone delivery service, with many customers finding the service especially useful as they stayed home and relied on our contactless delivery service to deliver the items they needed. Wing made more than 100,000 deliveries in Australia in 2021, and strong demand for drone delivery has continued in 2022. Wing has already made more than 30,000 deliveries in Australia this year.”
