Walmart Drone Dream Has Been Cleared For Take Off In Dallas

Walmart’s
Walmart
drone delivery service is taking flight at a greater number of stores as the world’s biggest retailer aims to rule not just retail but the skies as well.

The Arkansas-based company said that it is now offering its drone delivery service for up to 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Texas population and, the company said at the start of the year, is “building on our momentum with the largest drone delivery footprint of any U.S. retailer.”

Walmart has been working with a number of partners over the past three years or so and most recently in Dallas with Wing, the drone technology subsidiary of Google
Google
parent Alphabet, plus Zipline. It initially launched drone-based deliveries from three stores in Northwest Arkansas as far back as late 2021.

It has now expanded a partnership it launched with Wing in August last year, having initially offered the delivery service from two stores in the Dallas, Texas metro area.

That enabled the retailer to reach 60,000 homes because both Wing and Zipline have been approved by the FAA to fly their drones without a dedicated observer being able to see the drone at all times, known as Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), which enables drone delivery to more Texan households.

The project was initiated from a Walmart Supercenter in Frisco, Texas, which launched its delivery service via Wing drones on April 29, servicing two stores in North Richland Hills, one in Frisco, and one in Lewisville, all in Texas.

To order products via Wing drone delivery, customers download the Wing app and enter their address to check if their home is within the Wing drone delivery range. The service gives customers a delivery option to receive items in 30 minutes or less and some deliveries can happen as fast as 10 minutes, according to Walmart.

Walmart Drone Expansion

“This expansion will bring the ultimate convenience of drone delivery to communities across the DFW area. Customers will have access to a broad assortment of items from Walmart available for delivery to their home in just minutes,” said Prathibha Rajashekhar, SVP, Innovation & Automation, Walmart U.S. “Drone delivery is not just a concept of the future, it’s happening now and will soon be a reality for millions of additional Texans.”

Walmart said that after the last two years trialling drone delivery, it has completed over 20,000 deliveries and has seen customers use drone services for a variety of reasons, like a forgotten ingredient or for over the counter medicines, or simply for convenience. Some of the most popular items ordered include snacks and beverages, plus fragile items like eggs.

“Our first few months delivering to Walmart customers have made it clear: Demand for drone delivery is real,” said Wing CEO Adam Woodworth of the expanded service. “The response has been incredible from customers ordering drone delivery from Walmart every day. If this milestone is any indication, we believe 2024 is the year of drone delivery.”

A Brief History Of Walmart Flight

Following the launch of its original DroneUp drone delivery partnership in 2021, Walmart has expanded to provide the service via DroneUp in Arizona, Florida and Texas. In the fall of 2021, the retailer went on to launch a drone-based instant delivery service a Neighborhood Market store in Pea Ridge, Arkanas, in partnership with Zipline,

Walmart’s drone delivery hubs are now operated by DroneUp (in which Walmart has also invested), Flytrex and Zipline, plus Wing, and the retailer says that around 85% of the items available in a Neighborhood Market store meet the weight (up to 10 lbs) and volume requirements for drone delivery for a fee of $3.99.

With nearly 4,700 stores located within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population, Walmart said that it is “uniquely positioned” to scale when that time comes.