Singapore Shoppers Ready for the Era of Drone Delivery

Singapore, July 25th, 2018 : As drone technology advances, large multinationals are looking to drones to help with deliveries and cut operational costs. But are consumers ready for the future of drone delivery?

Shoppers in Singapore are some of the most confident when it comes to the concept of receiving drone deliveries and making payments via autonomous technology according to new research from Worldpay, a global leader in payments.

Worldpay’s research examined the viewpoints of over 20,102 consumers across 10 global markets, including Singapore, China and Australia in Asia Pacific. Consumers were asked about their opinions in relation to the Internet of Things (IoT); specifically, how comfortable they are with the concept of drones, and whether they would be happy to allow these machines to deliver parcels or collect returns. The research found that shoppers in Singapore are some of the most confident when it comes to drone delivery.

Key findings in Singapore include:

• Over half of consumers (52%) are comfortable with drone delivery, demonstrating one of the highest levels of consumer confidence globally, second only to China (70%).
• 54% of consumers are comfortable with the notion of having a drone collect unwanted items or returns.
• Younger consumers take the lead, with more than half of shoppers aged 18-34 (55%) saying they trust robots and drones somewhat or a lot.
• Nearly one in three shoppers aged 18-34 (31%) say they’re enthusiastic about using drones in the future, as compared to 22% of shoppers over the age of 55.

Phil Pomford, General Manager for Asia Pacific, Global Enterprise eCommerce at Worldpay, said: “eCommerce is booming in Singapore, with the online retail market expected to reach S$7.5 billion by 2025. As such, there is undoubtedly a huge potential market for drone delivery when it becomes a reality. Along with cost cutting benefits, drones could also be the answer to reducing congestion and pollution, and enabling faster delivery times. Our data suggests that consumers are becoming increasingly open to the notion of drone delivery, but there are still several logistical hurdles that need to be addressed before it becomes mainstay. The weight of the package and flying distance both remain potential barriers to adoption, in addition to ensuring that parcels are delivered to the correct customer.

Despite Singapore consumers’ relative confidence with drone delivery, only 29% of Singaporean consumers feel enthusiastic about using drones in the future. A wave of delivery scams over the past few years, involving fake couriers who deliver an unexpected package and request a credit or debit payment, could be partly responsible for some of the damage to consumer confidence when it comes to bringing new technology into the shopping experience.

Pomford added: “This is where payment technology will play an important role. By verifying the identity of the recipient before releasing the parcel, our proof of concept is an example of how technology can address the common problems associated with home delivery. The volume of parcels in transit will only increase, as shopping online increasingly becomes the channel of choice for Singapore consumers. Merchants should therefore explore new ways of innovating their supply chain capabilities, to keep pace with demand.”

About the data
The research was compiled in partnership with Opinium and interviewed over 20,102 consumers about their opinion on the Internet of Things and drones. Research was conducted in 10 markets – Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Singapore, the UK and USA.

About Drone Pay

Drone Pay is a prototype technology developed by Worldpay’s innovation team to understand how payment technology can be used to create more secure delivery and fulfilment for online retailers, whilst also adding an additional layer of buy authentication.The proof of concept uses EMV contactless payment card technology to authenticate the identity of the recipient. The technology is drone agnostic, and simply clips onto the drone model. The original drone remains unaltered. About Worldpay, Inc. Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE: WPY) is a leading payments provider with unique capability to power global integrated omni-commerce, any payment, anywhere. With industry-leading scale and an unmatched integrated technology platform, Worldpay offers clients a comprehensive suite of products and services globally, delivered through a single provider. Annually, Worldpay processes over 40 billion transactions through more than 300 payment types across 146 countries and 126 currencies. The company’s growth strategy includes expanding into high-growth markets, verticals and customer segments, including global eCommerce, Integrated Payments and B2B. Worldpay, Inc. was formed in 2018 through the combination of the No. 1 merchant acquirers in the U.S. and the U.K., Vantiv, Inc. and Worldpay Group plc. Worldpay, Inc. trades on the NYSE as “WP” and the London Stock Exchange as “WPY.” Visit us at http://www.worldpay.com/global.

About Worldpay

Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE: WPY) is a leading payments technology company with unique capability to power global integrated omni-commerce. With industry-leading scale and an unmatched integrated technology platform, Worldpay offers clients a comprehensive suite of products and services globally, delivered through a single provider.

Worldpay processes over 40 billion transactions annually through more than 300 payment types across 146 countries and 126 currencies. The company’s growth strategy includes expanding into high-growth markets, verticals and customer segments, including global eCommerce, Integrated Payments and B2B.

Worldpay, Inc. was formed in 2018 through the combination of the No. 1 merchant acquirers in the U.S. and the U.K. Worldpay, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange as “WP” and the London Stock Exchange as “WPY.” Visit us at https://www.worldpay.com/global/.

For more information, please contact:
Emily Lahey, PR Director : emily.lahey@worldpay.com – +44 (0) 203 664 5663
Annie Wang : worldpayhk@golin.com - + (852) 2501 7918