A DroneUp delivery drone above a Walmart location
Walmart Inc. of Bentonville on Thursday announced that drone delivery is now available in cities in Florida, Texas and Arizona as part of a multi-state expansion of the service to be completed by the end of the year.
Aerial deliveries are being made through DroneUp, a Virginia-based company that Walmart partly owns. The retailer said drones will fly from 11 stores in the Dallas area, seven stores across the Tampa and Orlando areas, and four stores in the Phoenix area.
DroneUp began flights in northwest Arkansas last year as the retail giant explored ways to scale the last-mile delivery system.
Delivery is expected to begin in Utah and Virginia in the next few weeks, growing the network to 34 stores in 23 cities. Walmart expects to reach more than four million households, offering more than 10,000 items for delivery in as little as 30 minutes. Orders can be up to 10 pounds and include fragile items, such as eggs.
“Drone delivery makes it possible for our customers to shop those last-minute or forgotten items with ease, in a package that’s frankly really cool … It may seem like a futuristic option, but it’s giving our customers what they’ve always wanted, and that’s time back to focus on what is most important to them,” Vik Gopalakrishnan, vice president of innovation and automation at Walmart U.S., said in a news release.
Walmart believes its massive infrastructure – more than 4,700 stores located within 10 miles of over 90% of the U.S. population – positions it to be the leader in commercial drone delivery. The company has said that as the service grows, it will offer aerial solutions for industries including insurance, emergency response and real estate.
DroneUp told Arkansas Business in August that it was preparing to roll out more advanced drone models that would increase weather resistance, weight capacity and range within Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
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