Walmart is expanding drone delivery across six states this year, making it possible for many more customers to get a box of diapers or dinner ingredients delivered in 30 minutes or less.
The retailer said it will be able to reach 4 million households in parts of Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah and Virginia. There are 37 stores that will be used to fulfill the deliveries by air, with 34 of them run by DroneUp.
In a post on Tuesday, it announced its plans for growth. Walmart has a few stores near its headquarters in northwest Arkansas and in North Carolina.
Walmart has been testing how the small,Unmanned aircraft could change the game for retail, drive e-Commerce growth and turn its stores into a way to out match Amazon on speed. Two years ago, it struck deals with three operators and began pilot projects to deliver groceries, household essentials and at- home Covid-19 test kits to customers. The company refused to give any details of the deals.
Walmart has a strategy to use its huge physical footprint as a competitive edge. Walmart has more than 4,700 stores and about 90% of Americans live within 10 miles. Walmart offers a growing list of fast online options through those stores, including curbside pickup, InHome, and Express Delivery, which can be done in two hours or less.
Customers who live within the range of a Walmart drone delivery site can order any of thousands of items between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. There is a $3.99 fee for each drone delivery. Customers can order up to 10 pounds of items.
Each order is picked, packaged and loaded at the store and flown by certified pilot to the customer's yard or driveway. The package is slowly being lowered by a cable.
The websites of the two other operators must be used to place orders. Walmart said it will add order-placing capability to its website and app in the future.
David Guggina, senior vice president of innovation and automation for Walmart U.S., said in a post that Walmart will be able to deliver over 1 million packages by drones in a year.
He said that one of the surprises of the tests was what customers ordered. Guggina said Walmart anticipated customers would use the drones to get emergency items. He said that many have used it for convenience. Hamburger Helper is the top seller at one store.
The company said that drones deliver batteries, trash bags, laundry detergent and fruit snacks.
Walmart will use drones to make money. It said it will use drones to take pictures for local businesses, such as construction or real estate companies. The revenue will go to the operator.
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