The service is being offered via an agreement with drone provider Wing.
Walmart is set to launch its drone delivery service in five more U.S. cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa, the company said in a June 5 statement.
The retailer already operates drone delivery services in the Dallas–Fort Worth area and northwest Arkansas. With the addition of the new cities, Walmart said it will become “the first retailer to scale drone delivery across five states: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas.”
The expansion will cover 100 stores across the five cities, with millions of customers receiving their orders in minutes, the company said.
“We’re pushing the boundaries of convenience to better serve our customers, making shopping faster and easier than ever before,” said Greg Cathey, senior vice president of Walmart U.S. Transformation and Innovation.
The service is being offered through an agreement with Wing, a drone company owned by Google’s parent, Alphabet
When a customer places an order, Wing’s system automatically chooses a safe and efficient route to deliver the package while avoiding obstacles such as aircraft, according to the Wing website.
Drones are overseen by pilots from a central location who monitor air traffic and weather to ensure safety. The drones are “built to operate in a wide range of weather conditions, including windy days and moderate rain.”
When the drone reaches its destination, it initially checks for obstacles in the delivery zone, steers to avoid them, and eventually lands to deliver items.
The drone flies at 65 miles per hour and has a range of 6 miles one-way or 12 miles on a round trip.
Commenting on Walmart’s latest expansion, Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said this was “real drone delivery at scale.”
“People all around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex have made drone delivery part of their normal shopping habits over the past year,” he said. “Now we’re excited to share this ultra-fast delivery experience with millions more people across many more U.S. cities.”
In Dallas-Fort Worth, Walmart uses Wing drones to service customers from 18 of its facilities. More stores are expected to get drone delivery service, Wing said in a June 5 statement.
