As of 2020, Walmart has been testing a drone delivery program in various parts of the United States. Now the e-commerce giant says it’s ready to expand that offering.
Walmart Expands Delivery Program
By the end of 2022, the retailer plans to add 34 new sites to its existing DroneUp network. With the expansion, approximately four million homes in Florida, Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Utah and Virginia will have access to drone deliveries from the company.
For a delivery rate of just $4, you can order up to £10 worth of groceries and household items and have them delivered to your door, according to CNBC.
If you use the service, Walmart says your package will arrive in just 30 minutes.
By the end of 2022, Walmart estimates it will have the capacity to deliver 1 million packages by air annually. It is certainly an impressive milestone, but it does not mean that the program is already profitable.
The retailer notes that it will offer drone services to businesses and local governments. For example, Walmart suggests drones could help build aerial photography businesses in one location.
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Not only will the additional revenue help offset the total cost of delivery, but it will also serve the entire drone industry by collecting more flight data as they work together to expand the drone business in a safe and regulated manner.
Walmart won’t be the only retail company to operate a drone delivery service in Texas, Alphabet’s Wing division recently expanded its delivery program to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Walmart is testing the drone
Walmart has been testing how the small and unmanned aerial vehicle could change the game for retail, fuel the growth of e-commerce and transform stores in a way to outpace Amazon on speed, Engadget said.
In 2020, it closed deals with three operators, namely Flytrex, Zipline and DroneUp. The company launched pilot projects to deliver groceries, household supplies and home COVID-19 test kits to customers.
The new type of delivery is considered an extension of Walmart’s strategy of using its massive physical footprint as a competitive advantage.
About 90% of Americans live within a 10-mile radius of one of Walmart’s more than 4,700 stores. Through those stores, Walmart has offered a growing list of fast online options, including curbside pickup, Express Delivery, which delivers items to your door in two hours or less, and InHome, which delivers directly to customers’ refrigerators.
Customers who live within range of a Walmart drone delivery site can order thousands of items between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Each drone delivery comes with a $3.99 fee. According to TechCrunch, customers can order up to £10 worth of groceries.
Each order is picked, packed and loaded in the stores and flown remotely by a certified pilot to the customer’s yard or driveway. A cable on the drone then lowers the package to your front door.
Orders must be placed on DroneUp’s website or through the websites of the other two operators. Walmart said it plans to add the ability to place orders to its own app and website.
Related article: Amazon’s drone delivery system isn’t doing well so far
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Written by Sophie Webster
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