Bentonville, ARKANSAS, USA — If you wanted the biggest confirmation that delivery drones are here to stay then this is it: Walmart – the world’s biggest retailer – has announced that it will be expanding drone deliveries into several states in the USA.
There is no other way to describe it: this will be the loudest cheer delivery drones have received from a user ever; and the industry should pat itself in the back for it.
It worked really hard to get here.
Walmart has said its drone delivery service will be expanded to millions of customers in Atlanta (Georgia) Charlotte (North Carolina), Houston (Texas), Orlando and Tampa (Florida).
The retail giant’s customers in these locations will enjoy the convenience of receiving their orders in just minutes — making Walmart the first retailer to scale drone delivery across five states: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas.
Walmart's drone partner Wing said this phase of expansion should be complete by June next year.
Aside from reinforcing Walmart’s leadership in tech-enabled retail – bringing the future of shopping to even more customers right from the sky – we think this development is a huge step forward for the scaling up of drone integration in urban settings where it would be most profitable.
Most importantly, we hope this will encourage healthcare authorities in African countries that have not drank the Kool Aid yet on how delivery drones can solve a lot of supply chain issues for inaccessible communities in an instant.
“As we look ahead, drone delivery will remain a key part of our commitment to redefining retail,” said Greg Cathey, senior vice president of Walmart US Transformation and Innovation.
“We’re pushing the boundaries of convenience to better serve our customers, making shopping faster and easier than ever before.
“This expansion of our drone delivery service marks a significant milestone in that journey. As the first retailer to scale drone delivery, Walmart is once again demonstrating its commitment to leveraging technology to enhance our delivery offerings with a focus on speed.”
The new drone service will launch at 100 stores, building on the existing operations in Northwest Arkansas and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Through an agreement with established long term drone provider Wing, Walmart can deliver a faster, more efficient service to even more customers — ensuring they get what they need, when they need it, in a way that’s both safe and sustainable.
“This is real drone delivery at scale,” said Adam Woodworth, CEO of Wing.
“People all around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have made drone delivery part of their normal shopping habits over the past year. Now we’re excited to share this ultra-fast delivery experience with millions more people across many more U.S. cities.”
Since launching drone delivery in 2021, Walmart has completed more than 150,000 deliveries; with the expansion, the company is set to make shopping even more convenient for its shoppers — offering thousands of products delivered directly to their door, faster than ever — in 30 minutes or less.
“As Walmart grows its footprint in these new cities, customers can utilize one of the retailer’s fastest delivery options for everything from groceries to health and wellness products to household essentials, all powered by drone technology,” the company said in a statement.
“Customers are using drone delivery for key ingredients they may have forgotten during their weekly grocery trip or for urgent care items, such as OTC cold/flu medicine, baby formula and COVID tests.
"Among the most frequently delivered products are fresh fruit, including bananas, lemons and limes, eggs, ice cream and pet food.”
Besides Wing, Walmart also works with Zipline as its drone partner. Earlier this year, the drone logistics company launched its first-ever P2 drone site at Walmart stores in Mesquite and Waxahachie, Texas, offering a delivery experience that’s quieter than the average delivery truck.
"The popularity of drone delivery in DFW is a testament not just to its convenience, but to the way this technology quickly becomes a part of everyday life,” Woodworth said.
“Walmart has been a strong partner that shares our commitment to innovation and is equally eager to bring this new type of service to many more households.”
The news of Walmart’s drone delivery expansion plans follow hard on the heels of last week’s reports of the unmanned traffic management breakthrough, there drones from two different service providers shared the same airspace at the same time for the first ever time.
Obviously, Walmart do not want to put this to waste.