Walmart Inc. announced it would be expanding its drone delivery program to 34 sites serving 4M households in the US. This provides us with the ability to deliver over 1 million packages by drone in a year. Walmart revealed they have been working on this project for over a year.
In 2021, the retailer had announced partnering with the Virginia, US-based drone technology firm DroneUp to start a drone delivery service in Arkansas. The latest announcement confirms the move to the next stage.
Between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., customers will be able to order tens of thousands of eligible items for delivery by air in as little as 30 minutes. For a delivery fee of $3.99, customers can order items totalling up to 10 pounds (about 4.5kg).
The new service is delivered in partnership with DroneUp.
We have seen a positive response from our customers
Walmart
“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.
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. Case in point: The top-selling item at one of our current hubs is Hamburger Helper.
The new delivery service could help scale up Drone infrastructure and offer additional revenue, noted Walmart. It could also serve the entire drone industry by gathering more flight data as the retailer expands drone deliveries in a regulated way.
