Drone deliveries look even more likely in Croatia’s near future.
The online shopping center iMall is the first major retailer in Croatia to test delivery by drone. The trial delivery was made from the warehouse of Bosch household appliances, two kilometers away from their home warehouse address in Zagreb. The drone carried a packet that weighed one kilogram, reports Poslovni.hr on June 18, 2018.
Damir Jelavić, director of iMall, says this form of delivery will not be introduced this year, but he plans to introduce it as soon as possible.
“Now I know that in the foreseeable future, we will be able to deliver smaller packages in Zagreb on time and within 30 minutes from when it was purchased on the Internet, and perhaps even with the same delivery price that is available now,” says Jelavić.
Jelavić explains that the delivery price is currently influenced by a number of factors of manipulative costs, including what it takes to pass through a warehouse, etc. He continued that a drone delivery eliminates the need for these services because it is executed directly from the warehouse to the buyer.
Jelavić adds that it also shortens the delivery time, which was implemented today after the purchase. According to Eurostat data, more than 40 percent of citizens in Croatia use the internet for purchases.
iMall is also growing rapidly thanks to online sales. In 2015, revenues reached 2.5 million kuna. A year later, they reached 3.82 million kuna, and in the first half of 2017 alone, they exceeded their income in all of 2015. Jelavić points out that they are looking for innovations that will offer customers more quality service.
“This type of delivery has been tested by Amazon for years, in cooperation with UPS. We have delivered in cooperation with a delivery service, and we can offer it on the market, need to adapt the warehouse, obtain adequate software, and the supplier needs the necessary permits”, concludes Jelavić.
