Walmart announced its plans to expand its drone delivery service by covering up to 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area, claiming it as the largest drone delivery footprint among other U.S. retailers.
Walmart Drone Delivery Promotes Convenience Among Customers
In a press release statement, Walmart detailed that drone delivery provides a faster option for customers who prefer to get their items within 30 minutes or less. The fastest delivery can be accomplished within 10 minutes.
The service expansion will now be available to more than 30 towns and municipalities in the DFW metroplex. Moreover, it will be powered by Wing and Zipline, which have both been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly without a dedicated observer to supervise the drone at all times.
Walmart has been conducting test runs for drone delivery for over two years and has completed more than 20,000 safe deliveries. Wing CEO Adam Woodworth noted that the first few months of the trial made it clear that there is a demand for the service.
Walmart, Wing, Zipline Work Towards Drone Delivery Success
Walmart has partnered with Wing and Zipline which are both drone experts. Wing has been delivering packages from businesses to homes for four years while Zipline is the world's largest autonomous delivery company that caters to health systems and retailers.
"We're excited for folks across Dallas-Fort Worth to experience delivery that is 7x as fast, zero emissions, and whisper quiet with our next-generation technology," Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton shared.
The drone delivery option will be an addition to Walmart's list of delivery options for its customers. Previously, the company only offered Express Delivery within three hours, Late-Night Delivery until 10 in the evening, and InHome that delivers directly to a customer's refrigerator.
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