Walmart Expands Drone Delivery Service to Arizona, Florida, and Texas

Walmart is continuing to grow its delivery services to make it easier for customers to obtain the products they need when they need them. Walmart proudly offers customers a range of options that enable them to save time and money, including Express delivery, which enables customers to have items delivered to their doorsteps in as little as two hours, and InHome, which enables customers to have orders placed directly into their refrigerators.

A solution that Walmart has been working upon over the past year is expanding delivery via drone. Walmart recently announced that by the end of the year, Walmart will have 34 locations for its DroneUp delivery service, giving it the potential to serve 4 million households in the United States spread across six states: Arizona, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Virginia, and Utah. Walmart will now be able to use drones to deliver more than 1 million packages annually, thanks to this.

Walmart drone delivery will be offered in select markets in Florida, Texas, and Arizona as of December 15, 2022. Customers in the cities of Orlando, Tampa, Dallas, and Phoenix can benefit from drone-delivered same-day deliveries.

Customers will be able to order from tens of thousands of eligible items, such as Tylenol, diapers, and hot dog buns, between the hours of 8:00 am and 8:00 pm for delivery by air in as little as 30 minutes. Simply put, if it fits safely it flies because consumers may purchase things weighing up to 10 pounds for a delivery price of $3.99.

“After completing hundreds of deliveries within a matter of months across our existing DroneUp hubs, we’ve seen firsthand how drones can offer customers a practical solution for getting certain items, fast. More importantly, we’ve seen a positive response from our customers that have used the service. In fact, while we initially thought customers would use the service for emergency items, we’re finding they use it for its sheer convenience, like a quick fix for a weeknight meal,” said the Senior Vice President of Innovation and Automation, Walmart U.S, David Guggina. 

A DroneUp delivery hub will be housed at participating stores, complete with a crew of licenced pilots who will safely supervise flying operations for deliveries while adhering to FAA regulations. When a customer places the order, the item is fulfilled from the store, packaged, mounted onto the drone, and delivered directly to their doorstep via a cable that gently lowers the package.

“The customer has always been at the center of our focus at Walmart, and we look for partners that are as laser-focused on customer experience as we are. DroneUp has been a reliable partner as we’ve tested this solution and their capabilities will enable our business to scale with speed while maintaining a high caliber of safety and quality,” David Guggina further explained.

However, the drones will deliver more than just Walmart packages. Giving back to the communities in which it operates is a core principle of Walmart, so as it expands its drone infrastructure, it will continue to have an influence on the advancement of drone technology and make it possible for other companies to explore its advantages too. This means that DroneUp will provide aerial drone solutions to local businesses and municipalities in industries including insurance, emergency response, and real estate. For instance, a nearby construction company can collaborate with DroneUp to use aerial drone photography to track job progress on-site.

The extra revenue will not only help cover the delivery costs, but it will also benefit the entire drone sector by gathering additional flight data as the companies collaborate to expand drone operations in a secure and controlled manner.