7-Eleven Successfully Delivers Packages Using Drones

With every major retailer seemingly hell-bent on taking advantaging of the emerging drone delivery concept, it was only a matter of time before 7-Eleven jumped on the bandwagon. As one of the biggest chains of convenience stores in the U.S., the iconic brand had a lot to gain in trying to keep up with other companies. This is especially important now that Amazon is introducing the concept of frictionless shopping to consumers.

While Amazon has been trying to get permission from government regulators to do some paltry delivery tests, 7-Eleven managed to a total of 77 successful package drops since July. Using drones from the maker Flirtey, the convenience store chain managed to do what the online merchant giant couldn’t, according to the report that the company released.

“Flirtey conducted regular weekend deliveries during November from a 7-Eleven store to a dozen select customers who were able to use a custom app to place their unique order,” the report reads. “Along with listing all items available for delivery, the interactive app also notified customers when their drone was loaded, when it departed from the store and when it was arriving at their doorstep.”

Simplicity and efficiency are notable aspects to the whole setup as well, Futurism reports. Delivery takes about 10 minutes on average to arrive after ordering, and doing that only requires customers to use the corresponding app that they can download.

Practically any product can be delivered to the customers’ doorsteps as well, including all the hot and cold foods that can be bought from the store chain and even some over-the-counter medication. 7-Eleven personnel will simply load the merchandise into containers attached to the Flirtey drones, which will take off and deliver the package in short order.

Flirtey has been a leader in the field of drone delivery ever since it received approval from regulators to conduct regular drops. According to the drone maker’s CEO Matthew Sweeny, the company aims to make drone delivery an everyday part of life.