Tapping rural areas, JD.com to use drones for deliveries

A Jingdong employee uses drones to make test deliveries. E-commerce company considering using unmanned aircraft for 'last mile' distribution E-commerce major JD.com Inc is working on ways to cut delivery times for rural online shoppers, using drones. China's largest online direct sales company said staff at its logistics research and development lab are working on an unmanned aircraft project, with the goal of overcoming what it called "last mile distribution" in underdeveloped rural areas. But JD.com's Chief Executive Officer Liu Qiangdong told the World Internet Conference in December that he had high hopes the futuristic technology would soon meet the rapidly growing demand from online shoppers in rural China. "With the help of drones, rural customers will be able to enjoy a more efficient online shopping experience, and allows us to cut staff and delivery costs," he said.