The Internet has been abuzz ever since Amazon announced it was looking into the use of drones to deliver lightweight packages to customers near its distribution centers. Personally, it sounds like another one of those things that is more about the publicity than the service. Amazon’s storage lockers are still unavailable to the vast majority of Amazon customers, two years after they were first introduced. Likewise, Amazon doesn’t have that many distribution centers, so almost nobody would be able to take advantage of this service if it existed. (Gizmodo would tend to agree.)
That being said, British chain Waterstones has come up with a particularly clever response to the Amazon announcement. It has announced it is looking into a service of its own, entitled the “Ornithological Waterstones Landing Service.” This service would consist of specially-trained owls who would carry light packages to customers’ addresses. (“Yes,” the FAQ notes, “this is exactly what they did in Harry Potter. You’re asking that as if this is a bad thing.”)
I’m not positive, but I suspect Waterstones may not be entirely serious. Though, either way, it seems about as likely to happen as Amazon’s delivery drone service.
Agreed. Notice that this story broke just after Thanksgiving, just as people began their holiday buying. It’s easy to see this as a ploy to put Amazon into the mind of the buying public.
nOW THAT IS GOOD CHRIS I LOVE IT
As an owl owner, I feel obliged to bust the myth about ‘the wise owl’. Maybe Waterstones should consider carrier pidgeons instead. They might not work as well as a publicity stunt, but I think there might be a bigger chance of the delivery arriving at the destination!
But then again, maybe I could get Artemis a job carrying book marks…