What are the Largest Areas of Growth for the Drone Industry?

David Benowitz is the Head of Research for DroneAnalyst, which released a report digging into how the industry performed during COVID-19 and how much hardware was sold in 2020 versus 2019.

“While a lot of people, of course, saw a lot of interest in delivery during COVID-19 — delivering medical devices, etc. — and we definitely saw a lot of growth, we’re really interested to see that across the whole industry.

We’re looking at the markets that currently exist. We’ve seen tremendous growth across the whole industry, with hardware growing from about $2.4 billion USD in 2019 to a much larger $3.5 billion of hardware being sold in 2020.

And, when we start looking at these segments that have grown, the only segment that was hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic was creative professionals, because the film industry pretty much stopped production and, therefore, stopped purchasing drones, as well.

But we saw huge, huge, tremendous growth in consumer, which grew by more than 30%. Enterprise imaging was even higher than that when talking about public safety and industrial applications.

The No. 1 largest growing sector during COVID-19 was agriculture spraying. And, of course, we’ve seen these drones being used for spraying disinfectant for COVID-19, as well. But we’re also seeing the core business of agriculture spraying drones just really take off in Asia and elsewhere where regulations are much more relaxed and where the products are finally meeting customers’ demands.”

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

robot
Robots, Revenue, and the Race for the Future: Intelligent Automation Is Powering the Next Wave of Growth
November 18, 2025

It’s hard to ignore just how quickly the world around us is changing. Packages arrive faster than ever, store shelves restock almost instantly, and behind the scenes, businesses are racing to keep up with expectations that seem to climb by the day. But as the workforce shrinks and pressure rises—including a projected shortage of…

Read More
healer
The Herban Alchemist’s Guide to Purpose, Energy, and Modern Leadership: How a Multi-Disciplinary Healer Helps High Achievers Rebuild Their Energy and Direction
November 18, 2025

As conversations about leadership and well-being continue to evolve, many high-achievers are confronting a familiar tension: they’re excelling publicly while quietly running on empty. Energy is both one of the most valuable—and most depleted—resources for many balancing ambition, impact, and personal purpose. At the same time, interest in holistic and integrative healing is surging, with…

Read More
SchoolSAFE
Inside SchoolSAFE: Takeaways from Education Leaders
November 18, 2025

School Safety Today podcast, presented by Raptor Technologies. In this special episode of School Safety Today, host Dr. Amy Grosso interviews several education and safety leaders live from the Raptor 2025 SchoolSAFE Conference. Rachael Freeman (Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD), Jason Overbay (Sarasota County Schools), Marti Neahring (West Aurora School District), Dr. Penny Schultz (Chesapeake City…

Read More
Addison LaBonte
Meet Addison LaBonte: The Founder Who Turned a Personal Health Challenge Into a Clean Dessert Phenomenon
November 17, 2025

Ingredient awareness has officially gone mainstream, pushing clean, allergy-friendly desserts into the spotlight. The result is explosive growth in gluten-free and “better-for-you” treats as shoppers trade traditional options for products they feel good about. According to industry research, gluten-free food sales in the U.S. continue to climb year over year as more Americans discover sensitivities…

Read More