Wal-Mart eyes drone home deliveries

SAN FRANCISCO, United States—Wal-Mart is actively looking at the possibility of using drones to make deliveries to US customers, a spokesman said Monday, following the lead of Amazon and other retailers.

The retail behemoth has been testing the technology indoors “for several months” and on Monday made a request to US aviation authorities to do likewise outside.

In addition to deliveries, Wal-Mart wants to use the unmanned aircraft to keep a bird’s eye view on its warehouses or other facilities, or to convey purchases in-store to customers’ cars.

“This is part of our continuous efforts to drive efficiencies in our supply chain and to serve customers faster and better,” a spokesman told AFP.

“There is a Wal-Mart within five miles (eight kilometers) of 70 percent of the US population, so that creates interesting possibilities for serving customers with drone technologies.”

In March, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would allow online giant Amazon to carry out testing for its drone program.

The company hopes to develop a delivery system which would dispatch small packages in under 30 minutes.

Google is also keen on the idea and in August last year—a month after Amazon sought permission for drone test flights—said it was also trying out using drones to deliver items bought online.

source: business.inquirer.net

Consumers feared tough budget

The federal government's persistent warnings of tough measures in the run-up to the May budget may have spooked consumers into saving their cash, rather than spending at the shops, retailers say.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures published on Wednesday showed retail spending dropped by 0.2 per cent in April to a seasonally adjusted $21.2 billion - in defiance of financial market expectations.

The monthly result was a sharp reversal from the 1.1 per cent increase in March.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said it was disappointing because the sector was hoping for a boost after the April Easter holidays and the relaxation of trading hours in some states.

'The monthly decline shows consumers might have had more time up their sleeves in April but sadly no cash in their pockets,' he said in a statement.

Spending was particularly weak in household goods and department stores retailing, while there was a marginal rise increase in food and cafe and restaurant sales.

Australian National Retailers Association chief executive Margy Osmond said consumers had heeded government warning of a tough 2012/13 budget and 'shied away from making major purchases'.

Retailers are now hoping May sales will be better after the central bank cut interest rates this month and the budget turned out not as bad as expected.

'We will again be looking for further cash rate cuts so consumers feel safe enough to shop,' Ms Osmond said.

Financial markets are fully expect a 25 basis point cut in the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cash rate to 3.5 per cent when the central bank board meets next Tuesday.

The retail figures coincided with the release of new construction figures for the March quarter, which highlighted the effects of the two-speed economy.

Construction grew by 5.5 per cent to $48.3 billion in the first three months of the year, and were 15 per cent higher from a year ago.

The strength was largely due to a booming engineering sector, which is benefiting from mining related projects.

Engineering work jumped 13.3 per cent in the quarter and a staggering 35.6 per cent over the year.

TD Securities head of Asia-Pacific research Annette Beacher said the strong engineering result increased the likelihood that next week's national economic growth report would be better than expected.

source: skynews.com.au