Walmart unleashes ‘largest drone delivery footprint of any U.S. retailer’

Walmart is expanding its drone delivery service, claiming it now has the largest drone delivery footprint of any U.S. retailer thanks to partnerships with Wing and Zipline.

Wing and Zipline are drone delivery providers and will allow Walmart to cover 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth population as stores in 30 towns and municipalities will now offer drone delivery service. Wing already handles drone deliveries at Walmart Supercenters in Frisco, Texas, and the Dallas area. 

Both Wing and Zipline have been approved by the FAA to fly drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight, which means a dedicated observer does not have to always watch the drones. This allows the coverage to be extensive.

Since 2016, Zipline has flown more than 60 million commercial autonomous miles and delivered millions of products. The company currently completes a commercial delivery every 70 seconds and has operations on four continents. Meanwhile, Wing comes with four years of commercial residential service in the U.S. and on three continents.

Walmart has tested its drone delivery service over the last two years and claims to have made over 20,000 safe deliveries.

The retailer says snacks and beverages are the most popular items sent by drone. The delivery radius for stores offering the service is up to 10 miles.

Related:More Walmart locations will have poke bars in 2024

“Our first few months delivering to Walmart customers have made it clear: Demand for drone delivery is real,” said Wing CEO Adam Woodworth. “The response has been incredible from customers ordering drone delivery from Walmart every day, and it’s a testament to our partnership that we’re now expanding our footprint to bring this innovative delivery option to millions of Texans. If this milestone is any indication, we believe 2024 is the year of drone delivery.”   

Supermarket News recently showed a video of a drone making a Walmart delivery of a package of Chewy Chips Ahoy. By all accounts, it was a success.

The drone delivery expansion sends a message to competitors like Amazon, which talked about the service over a decade ago and recently announced plans of expansion. 

The demand from the shopper is there. In an interview with Supermarket News, Wing CFO Shannon Nash said 43% of consumers said in a recent survey that last-minute grocery runs are the most common reason they make unplanned trips to the store, and 74% are interested in finding ways to replace time-consuming trips with fast delivery. 

She said orders delivered by Wing are capable of carrying just under three pounds of goods and travel at speeds of up to 65 miles an hour. 

**

Walmart is expanding its drone delivery service, claiming it now has the largest drone delivery footprint of any U.S. retailer thanks to partnerships with Wing and Zipline. Meanwhile, Amazon has announced it is expanding its drone program. How long will it take for grocery stores beyond Walmart and Amazon to engage in high tech like drones for delivery?

Let us know in the comments below, or email your thoughts to the SN staff at [email protected].