The company isn’t letting any of its competitors get the jump on it when it comes to last-mile delivery solutions.
The retail giant is expanding its drone delivery service with operator DroneUp to 34 sites by the end of the year. The expansion will give Walmart the potential to reach four million US households across six states — Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah and Virginia — and the ability to deliver more than one million packages by drone in a year.
From 8:00am to 8:00pm, customers who live within the range of a Walmart drone-delivery site can order from thousands of items, ranging from Tylenol to hot dog buns, for delivery by air in as little as 30 minutes. (The total order cannot exceed 10 pounds.) Each drone delivery comes with a $3.99 fee.
The participating Walmart stores will house a DroneUp delivery hub that includes a team of certified pilots that will manage flight operations for deliveries. Once a customer places an order, the item is fulfilled from the store, packaged and loaded into the drone. The drone is then flown remotely by the pilot to the customer’s yard or driveway. A cable on the drone lowers the package.
Walmart made an unspecified investment in DroneUp in June 2021. The company currently offers drone deliveries from several stores near its headquarters in northwest Arkansas and in North Carolina. Most recently, the Kroger Co. began a drone-delivery pilot.
