Amazon recently announced a rather ambitious project that its R&D division has been working on. Called Amazon Prime Air, the company plans to employ drones to deliver packages of up to five pounds in 30 minutes. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said that the company hopes to make this project a reality by 2015, despite the fact that there are several challenges and hurdles in the way that Amazon Prime Air will have to clear first before it takes off. Speaking with Bloomberg TV, eBay CEO John Donahue said that his company isn’t focused on “long-term fantasies” such as Amazon’s drone project, instead he said that eBay is focusing on things “that will change consumers’ experience today.”
In select markets, eBay already offers a service called eBay Now. These markets include New York City, Dallas, Chicago and the San Francisco Peninsula region, eBay Now will also be launched in London soon. Users can opt for this service if they want items delivered within an hour after they have placed the order. The company’s personal shoppers handle the pickup from retail partners and delivery, all within 60 minutes. Despite the fact that its roll out has been rather slow, eBay Now is only expected to cover 25 markets by the end of next year, the fact remains that its already being offered to consumers. Amazon Prime Air, no matter how ambitious, still exists only on paper. However, Donahue agress that “bold innovation is important,” and that’s what Amazon’s delivery drones are at this moment, bold innovation. The CEO says that eBay’s bold innovation is focused around commerce.
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