Auterion asked more than 1,000 US consumers if they were in favor of drone delivery.  “…a solid majority of Americans (58%) favor the idea of drone deliveries and even more (64%) think drones are becoming an option for home delivery now or will be in the near future,” finds the report.   “With more than 80% reporting packages delivered to their homes on a regular basis, the survey finds that Americans are generally ready to integrate drone delivery into daily life.”  As traditional means of delivery get more expensive and less efficient due to current economics, including rising fuel prices and labor shortages, 47% of US consumers surveyed say they’d choose a retailer based upon the option for drone delivery.

US consumers may be looking forward to drone delivery, but how will it work – and how much will consumers be willing to pay for it?

Online shoppers are spoiled on shipping costs now – so free drone delivery is understandably more favorably viewed, with 59% of consumers surveyed saying that free service would make drone delivery more appealing.  41% said they would not be willing to pay a fee for drone delivery, 41% said they’d be willing to pay a fee between $1 – $10, and 18% said they’d pay more than $10.  Speed counts, however: “Notably, if products arrived to the house within an hour, 4 out of 10 Americans (42%) said that they would pay more money,” says the Auterion study.

“In thinking about the near future, a sizable 54% of Americans were willing to consider drones as “the new corner store” for conveniently delivering small and last- minute sundries,” says the report.