Kroger’s drone deliveries on test

Kroger has joined the league along with its competitor Walmart, launching a drone delivery service of groceries. Kroger has collaborated with Drone Express to begin door-to-door delivery programs using drones. The program will be available to deliver baby products, medications, and picnic items. The total weight of the items to be delivered will not exceed five pounds from the test store based in Centerville, Ohio. The program is set to mark its beginning in the spring.

The drones appointed to deliver the grocery items will be flown by the drone pilots trained and certified under FAA approval. According to Kroger’s website, the drones will attempt to deliver the product in street addresses as well as parks or beaches by accessing the smartphone locations of the buyer.

Kroger is attempting to deliver through drone service and is arranging to include products that come under the suggested weight and size limitations. The most relatively compliant products to get delivered under this limit of weight and size include the baby wipes and formulas, medicines, and a pack of S’mores. The timeline to deliver these products is claimed to lie within 15 minutes by the Kroger team.

Kroger CTO Beth Flippo states that the drone service is a powerful one and ensures secure delivery of products to the customers. “The possibilities for customers are endless – we can enable Kroger customers to send chicken soup to a sick friend or get fast delivery of olive oil if they run out while cooking dinner,” he added.

The testing will begin this week from the Kroger store in Centerville, Ohio. The flight will be monitored off-site. The second shift of this program will commence this summer at a California Ralphs.

Meanwhile, Walmart has begun using drones for delivery purposes way back in 2015 and, at present, is looking forward to making use of Flytrex drones as part of a test in North Carolina.