Reno based Flirtey announced it has completed 77 autonomous drone deliveries to customer homes in the United States. Flirtey is the first drone delivery service to complete regular commercial deliveries to customer homes in the United States.
The deliveries are the result of Flirtey and 7-Eleven’s commercial collaboration, which kicked off in July with the world’s first autonomous drone delivery to a customer’s residence.
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. 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.
Once an order was placed, 7-Eleven merchandise – including items such a hot and cold food and over-the-counter medicines – were loaded into a custom Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using precision GPS to a local customer’s house. Once at the customer’s home, the Flirtey drone hovered in place and lowered the package. On average, customers receive their packages by Flirtey less than 10 minutes from the point of order.
One customer was so excited by the experience that she called her family to tell them they had just become “the real-life Jetsons.” 100 percent of customers who participated stated they will continue to use Flirtey drone delivery service as operations expand.
“Flirtey is the world’s leader in the drone delivery industry and we have now successfully completed the first month of routine commercial drone deliveries to customer homes in partnership with 7-Eleven,” said Flirtey CEO Matthew Sweeny in a press release. “While other companies in this space are shipping jobs overseas, Flirtey’s goal is to make delivery instant, and in the process create jobs at home for hardworking Americans and veterans. This is a giant leap towards a future where everyone can experience the convenience of Flirtey’s instant store-to-door drone delivery.”
Customers of all ages participated in the deliveries – including elderly couples, working parents and busy college students – and feedback from customers cited the speed and convenience as the most appealing aspects of Flirtey deliveries.
Popular items included hot food items, cold beverages and over-the-counter medicines such as 7-Select Night Time Cold & Flu Relief, 7-Select Headache Relief and aspirin. Over-the-counter medicine delivery has been a focus for Flirtey because of the convenience it offers – whether it is a parent trying to avoid having to load sick kids into the car to buy flu medication in the evening or someone battling a fever. In addition to these commercial deliveries, Flirtey and 7-Eleven are planning to expand their drone delivery operations in 2017.
