Walmart Drones To Serve 60,000 Dallas Homes
Walmart announced its drone delivery service at two Dallas, Texas, stores is about to take flight in the coming months and serve upwards of 60,000 homes. The mega-retailer, with thousands of stores nationwide, hopes to expand its drone delivery network, currently operating in 36 stores in seven states, as a move to reduce the time and cost of delivering goods to customers on the last mile.
"Working with Wing directly aligns with our passion for finding innovative and eco-friendly last-mile delivery solutions to get customers the items they want, when they want them," Walmart said.
The Walmart Supercenter at 8555 Preston Road in Frisco, Texas, will be the first of the two stores to launch the drone delivery service powered by Alphabet Inc.'s Wing unit. It will then "join our existing network of 11 drone hubs already operating in the Dallas area," the retailer said, adding customers will be able to order frozen treats, household essentials, last-minute meal solutions, cheese, and eggs. The second store will be added later this year.
Wing's drones can deliver small packages that weigh approximately 2.6 pounds at a distance of six miles, with a top speed of 65 mph -- this is by far the fastest delivery option for consumers.
Walmart and Wing set to expand drone delivery together in Dallas metro📦 #DeliveredbyWing #DroneDelivery #supplychain #deliverydrone #uas #uav #logistics #robotics #drone #drones #engineering #automation #aerodynamics #delivery #lastmiledelivery pic.twitter.com/koLFm3BJor
— Wing (@Wing) August 24, 2023
Attempts to scale the commercial drone delivery industry have been moving at a snail's pace due to significant technical challenges and a lengthy regulatory approval process with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Besides Walmart -- UPS, CVS, Amazon, and others have been onboarding drone delivery services in recent years:
Amazon Granted FAA Clearance For Prime Air Drone Delivery Fleet
UPS, CVS Complete First Drone Delivery Of Medicine To Residential Customer
As for all of those UPS delivery drivers slated for a bump in pay -- remember, drones and automation will eventually displace you (maybe a 2030s story or sooner) -- so enjoy things while they're good.
