Consumer acceptance of delivery drones in urban areas

Abstract

AbstractThe concept of drone usage for commercial purposes by retailers worldwide is still in its early stages, and unheard of in Pakistan. Moreover, research on consumer perceptions regarding commercial drones in Pakistan and around the world is very sparse. The purpose of this paper is to gauge the level of acceptability and concerns Pakistani consumers may have in accepting the drone delivery technology. This study offers new insights that retailers and delivery companies can use to penetrate target markets in early stages. The authors have executed a quantitative analysis through the means of a survey. A sample of middle‐ and upper class residents of two cities in Pakistan was selected on which purposive sampling technique was applied. A total of 307 responses were collected and these responses were analysed in SPSS. Various analysis techniques were applied including Cronbach’s alpha, the Pearson correlation analysis, regression analysis and cluster analysis. The results show that consumers in Pakistan perceive privacy issues as a primary concern in relation to drone delivery. The results also throw light on the profile of consumer segments that can be targeted by retailers who may desire to use the drone delivery technology in the near future. Using these findings, retailers using the drone delivery mechanism can address consumer’s fears and ambiguities. Retailers can resolve consumer concerns by designing pro‐privacy parameters in the initial service design stage and the infrastructure deployment of drones.