Walmart has confirmed that it is rolling out drone delivery to even more customers.
The supermarket giant said air deliveries are now available to 75 percent of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas.
More customers can take advantage of the ultra-fast delivery service as the service is rolling out to four more Walmart supercenters in North Texas.
It’s an expansion of a deal with Google-owned drone delivery company Wing, which began last year with deliveries from two stores in the Dallas metro. The two covered 60,000 homes.
The four new Supercenters are two in North Richland Hills, one in Frisco and one in Lewisville, which began drone deliveries on April 29. Walmart has not said how many new homes they cover, but it is believed to be between 50,000 and 100,000 homes. .
The supermarket giant confirmed that air deliveries would now be available to 75 percent of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas.
Millions of Texas customers will now be able to order essential items using drones
Households within an approximate six-mile radius of those stores can use the service, depending on the age of the store chain.
The main advantage of partnering with Wing is that they are allowed to use drones that can fly beyond the line of sight of the warehouse. Most companies should keep their drones in sight.
Not having this restriction allows deliveries to be made about six miles from stores.
The drones have already delivered more than 20,000 customer orders as of January, the retailer said in a statement at the time.
The company now plans to build on “our momentum with the largest drone delivery footprint of any US retailer,” the company said.
“This expansion will bring ultimate drone delivery convenience to communities throughout the DFW area,” said Prathibha Rajashekhar, senior vice president of innovation and automation at Walmart.
Walmart shoppers who opt for the futuristic delivery option can expect their order to arrive in half an hour, while some items can take as little as ten minutes.
Drone deliveries will tend to be used for smaller purchases, with a weight limit set at ten pounds, the company explained.
The rate is set at $3.99 for deliveries that meet weight requirements.
The most common use of the delivery service is to purchase snacks and medications, but fragile items such as eggs may also be included, the store added.
According to store representatives, about 85 percent of the products at a Neighborhood Market store meet the weight and volume requirements for drone delivery.
“Customers will have access to a wide variety of Walmart items available for delivery to their home in just minutes,” Rajashekhar said.
‘Drone delivery isn’t just a concept of the future: it’s happening now and will soon be a reality for millions more Texans.
“The response has been incredible from customers requesting drone deliveries to Walmart every day.”
“If this milestone is any indication, we believe 2024 will be the year of drone deliveries,” he added.
The service works with on-demand drone providers, Wing and Zipline. Both companies are approved by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to fly without a dedicated observer.
To order food using a Wing drone, customers must download the Wing app and enter their address to ensure they are in a service area.
The company initially launched drone deliveries from three stores in northwest Arkansas in 2021.
Walmart’s drone delivery centers are run by three companies: DroneUp, which Walmart has invested in, Zipline and Wing.
The chain has already made more than 20,000 deliveries using technology
Drone deliveries will tend to be used for smaller purchases, with a weight limit set at ten pounds.
After launching its initial DroneUp drone delivery partnership in 2021, Walmart now offers the service through DroneUp in Florida and Texas, as well as the original state of Arizona.
The retailer also introduced a drone-based instant delivery service at a Neighborhood Market store in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, in partnership with Zipline in fall 2021.
Walmart’s 4,700 stores located within 10 miles of 90 percent of the country’s population put it in a “unique position” to scale, a company spokesperson said.
Walmart, America’s largest retailer, is in a race with rivals like Amazon to be at the center of the futuristic delivery option.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos first expressed interest in drone deliveries in 2013.