Walmart is elevating its services by introducing its retail drone delivery program to serve up to 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) population. This move builds on the company’s momentum, establishing the most extensive drone delivery footprint among U.S. retailers.
With Walmart’s retail drone delivery program expansion, the company now covers stores in over 30 towns and municipalities across the DFW metroplex. This marks a significant milestone as the first instance where a U.S. retailer provides drone delivery to such a vast number of households in a single market. Wing and Zipline, both FAA-approved for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights, will power these deliveries, extending drone delivery access to more Texans than ever.
Prathibha Rajashekhar, Senior Vice President of Innovation & Automation at Walmart U.S., emphasized the enhanced convenience that the drone delivery expansion will bring to communities in the DFW area. Customers will easily access a wide range of Walmart items delivered to their homes within minutes. Rajashekhar highlighted that drone delivery is not merely a future concept but is actively occurring and will soon become a reality for millions more Texans.
Drone delivery offers customers an even faster option, with items reaching them in 30 minutes or less and some deliveries occurring as swiftly as 10 minutes. This complements other expedited delivery methods like Express Delivery within three hours, Late-Night Delivery until 10 p.m., and InHome, which includes the option for delivery directly to a customer’s refrigerator.
Having trialed drone delivery over the last two years with over 20,000 safe deliveries, Walmart has observed customers utilizing this service for various reasons, from last-minute needs to convenient and quick delivery. Popular items ordered include snacks, beverages, and other household essentials. Drones also facilitate the delivery of multiple items simultaneously, catering to diverse needs such as a movie night at home, a spontaneous birthday gift, or ingredients for baking cookies, including fragile items like eggs.
Wing CEO Adam Woodworth highlighted the significant demand for drone delivery following the initial months of delivering to Walmart customers. With customers ordering drone delivery from Walmart daily, the positive response has led to expanding the service’s footprint, reaching millions of Texans. Woodworth expressed confidence that 2024 is poised to become the year of drone delivery.
Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton expressed excitement about the readiness of autonomous delivery for national scale in the U.S. He highlighted Zipline’s enthusiasm to support Walmart’s vision of rapid customer delivery, akin to teleportation. Rinaudo commended Walmart for leading in the use of robotics and AI to enhance cost savings and quality of life, anticipating that Dallas-Fort Worth residents will benefit from delivery that is seven times faster, emission-free, and virtually silent, thanks to Zipline’s next-generation technology.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer helping people save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Approximately 240 million customers and members visit approximately 10,500 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 19 countries weekly. With fiscal year 2023 revenue of $611 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to lead in sustainability, corporate philanthropy, and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart, on X (formerly known as Twitter) at twitter.com/walmart, and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/walmart/.
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Post Image and Article Credits: Walmart
