Tesco takes to the skies with home delivery by drone

Tesco has begun its trial of home delivery by drone, with shoppers in Oranmore, Co Galway, the first to test the service.

The retailer has teamed up with drone delivery company Manna on the trial, which will run over several months.

Led by Tesco’s Group Innovation team, it is offering on-demand small basket deliveries to customers from its Oranmore shop. Customers can order deliveries through a dedicated website, where an initial range of 700 products will be available. The order will then be packed by a Tesco employee in-store, with delivery managed by a Manna drone supervisor.

"We're really excited about this partnership and delighted that our store in Oranmore is involved in this trial," said Catherine Swift, shop manager at Tesco Oranmore. "We're continually looking for new ways to serve our customers a little better and this trial is an opportunity to look at meeting demand for small basket shops and quick delivery. We're looking forward to seeing how our customers in the Oranmore area respond to the service."

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Drone orders will run 9.30am-5pm from Tuesday to Sunday. The orders can be tracked in real-time, with purchases delivered within 30 minutes to one hour of ordering,

"It is incredible to work with an innovative partner like Tesco on this trial and to be able to provide this delivery service to the community of Oranmore," said Denis Houston, operations director for Manna. "It's fantastic to see how innovation and new technologies like this helps all the community, both customers and local retailers."