Walmart has been tinkering with Drone Delivery for a while, now. But it seems its process has been perfected. And Walmart will expand its drone program to more cities including: Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Miami, with other cities to follow soon after…
Walmart and partner Wing Drone Delivery previously announced plans to expand to Houston, Orlando, Tampa, and Charlotte. They’re using a mighty ‘skyhook’ drone from Wing…
No small affair…
Wing is a division of Google, specializing in commercial delivery drones. Walmart has been working with the company since 2021 to develop a reliable drone capable of delivering significant order loads. By significant, we mean, up to 5 lb / 2 kg. Any kind of merchandise will be eligible for drone dispatch, including groceries and over-the-counter medicine.
The drones themselves appear (from the available photos) to be about 5 ft. / 1.5 m long with a wing-span about the same. It’s a twin-tailed affair powered by 12 (!) electric motor-driven propellers for lift and 4 more for forward propulsion…
The service claims it can deliver in under 30 minutes to customers within a 6 – 10 mi / 10 – 16 km radius of the store.
Chain-wide rollout
Walmart is, in fact, launching a phased chain-wide rollout of drone delivery service. Once the cur-rently announced expansions are complete, there will be more than 150 stores offering the service. That number is expected to climb to at least 270 stores by the end of 2027.
An ‘important role’
“Drone delivery plays an important role in our ability to deliver what customers want, exactly when they want it,” Greg Cathey, Senior Vice President of Digital Fulfillment Transformation at Walmart, said.
“Whether it’s a last-minute ingredient for dinner, a must-have charger for a phone, or a late-night essential for a busy family, the strong adoption we’ve seen confirms that this is the future of convenience.”
My take
It certainly is a major commitment by the mega-merchant… Successful drone delivery service will require a fully-equipped drone control centre in each store, with qualified operators. They’ll need some kind of air traffic control to make sure they don’t get in each other’s way. There will have to be dedicated maintenance staff to make the sure the drones are charged up and ready to fly. And tech-nicians to ensure the vehicles are air-worthy, perform routine maintenance, and make repairs as necessary.
So… Yes, it will be a costly endeavour, too.
That’s why the service – while free for Walmart+ members – will cost $19.99 per occasion for non-members…
~ Maggie J.