Walmart expands drone delivery with Wing to 150 more stores
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A Wing drone "nest" where delivery drones take off and land in a Walmart parking lot. Photo courtesy of Walmart
Alphabet-owned Wing is expanding its drone delivery service to an additional 150 Walmart stores across the U.S., stretching from Los Angeles to Miami.
Why it matters: Last-minute drone delivery of a carton of eggs or baby wipes might seem fanciful to most people. But the future is already here if you live in Dallas — where some Walmart customers order delivery by Wing three times a week.
- By the end of 2026, some 40 million Americans, or about 12 percent of the U.S. population, will be able to take advantage of the convenience, the companies claim.
Driving the news: Sunday's announcement coincided with an onstage conversation about AI opportunities between incoming Walmart CEO John Furner and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai at the National Retail Federation conference in New York.
Zoom in: Walmart customers in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Miami will soon be able to get drone deliveries, with more metro areas to be announced later.
- The companies recently began service in Atlanta and Charlotte, with service set to begin in Houston on Jan. 15.
- Orlando and Tampa have also been previously targeted for expansion.
How it works: Customers use Wing's app, as they would DoorDash or Instacart, to get drone delivery from participating Walmart stores.
- Once the items are picked and packed in a small cardboard basket, they are loaded onto a drone inside a fenced area in the Walmart parking lot.
- Drones fly autonomously to the designated address, with human pilots monitoring each flight from a central operations hub.
- Longer term, the companies aim to integrate drone delivery as an option in Walmart's app.
Between the lines: For now, Wing deliveries are free.
- "The goal is to expose folks to the wonders of drone delivery," explains Wing's chief business officer, Heather Rivera.
- "We've solving a very real and present need today, which is forgotten items."
- Over time, she said Wing expects delivery fees to be comparable to other delivery options, but faster and more convenient.
What they're saying: "Drone delivery plays an important role in our ability to deliver what customers want, exactly when they want it," said Greg Cathey, Walmart's senior vice president of digital fulfillment transformation, in a statement.
- "Whether it's a last-minute ingredient for dinner or a late-night essential for a busy family, the strong adoption we've seen confirms that this is the future of convenience."
What's next: By 2027, Walmart and Wing say they'll have a network of more than 270 drone delivery locations nationwide.
More from Axios:
