Another 1.8 million Texans will be able to use drone delivery from Walmart as the company expands its service in the greater DFW area. Customers who live within range of a participating Walmart will be able to get items delivered, sometimes within 10 minutes, by a drone. Although only smaller items can be delivered, such as a bottle of cold medicine package of hot dog buns, a or a dozen eggs, drone delivery reduces pollution with faster delivery times.
Walmart partners with drone companies
Drone delivery from Walmart began in a limited market in Arkansas in 2021. The following year, the program was expanded into certain markets in six states, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah and Virginia. With the most recent expansion in the DFW area, Walmart is partnering with Wing, which is owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Using drones from both Wing and Zipline allows for more customers to enjoy faster delivery without emissions. Both Wing and Zipline are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly drones without a dedicated observer watching the drone at all times. You can check the Wing and Zipline websites to see which addresses can receive drone deliveries.
Drone delivery on the rise
Drones are being used around the world to deliver food and medicine in remote or disaster-stricken areas. According to reports, Walmart has successfully completed 20,000 drone deliveries, a small portion of the estimated 1 million worldwide deliveries in 2023. DroneLife estimates that over 90% of Americans are interested in using drone delivery, especially for less traffic and more efficiency.
There are concerns about piracy, technical errors, and loss of jobs for delivery drivers. Even so, more companies are investing in drone technology. Amazon, Google, UberEats and more are using drone deliveries in some markets. DroneLife lists Amazon and Walmart as the top two trusted companies for drone delivery by American consumers. Drone delivery may one day be as common as delivery trucks, but there are challenges ahead.
Dawn Brotherton is a Sr. Staff Writer at The American Genius with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is an experienced business writer with over 10 years of experience in SEO and content creation. Since 2017, she has earned $60K+ in grant writing for a local community center, which assists disadvantaged adults in the area.
