• by Chuck Martin , December 9, 2019

Global shipments of drones for businesses are expected to grow to 526,000 units in 2020, according to a new forecast by Gartner.

That would be an increase of 50% from 2019. By 2023, 1 million shipments are projected.

The flying devices are expected to be used for numerous businesses cases, including retail fulfillment, construction monitoring, insurance investigation, fire service monitoring and police evidence gathering.

Retail deliveries by drone are expected to provide rapid service and allow retailers to access customers in remote areas.

Drone shipments for retail are projected to total 25,000 in 2020, rising to 122,000 in 2023, with the biggest opportunity for retail after 2023.

CVS recently made its first revenue-generating drone delivery and the FAA has approved an entire drone airline to be operated by UPS Flight Forward.