Walmart hits CES 2024 to lay claim to largest drone delivery expansion by any US retailer

Walmart is now offering drone delivery for up to 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) population, giving it the largest such footprint of any US retailer.

It made the announcement at CES 2024, which is currently taking place in Las Vegas.

“This expansion will bring the ultimate convenience of drone delivery to communities across the DFW area. Customers will have access to a broad assortment of items from Walmart available for delivery to their home in just minutes,” says Prathibha Rajashekhar, Senior Vice President, Innovation & Automation, Walmart U.S.

“Drone delivery is not just a concept of the future, it’s happening now and will soon be a reality for millions of additional Texans.”     

The expansion includes stores across more than 30 towns and municipalities in the DFW metroplex, marking the first time a US retailer has offered drone delivery to this many households in a single market.

The deliveries will be powered by Wing and Zipline. Both are approved by the FAA to fly their drones without a dedicated observer being able to see the drone at all times, known as Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS).

Customers can receive orders within 30 minutes or less and some deliveries can happen as fast as 10 minutes.

Over the last two years trialing drone delivery, Walmart has completed over 20,000 safe deliveries.

It has seen people use the service for various reasons. This includes when they need an item in a pinch, like a forgotten ingredient or over the counter cold medicine, or simply because it’s convenient.

Some of the most popular items ordered include snacks and beverages. Drones can also deliver several items at a time, such as supplies for a movie night at home, a last minute birthday gift or ingredients for baking cookies, including fragile items like eggs.    

The delivery radius for stores offering the service will be up to 10 miles.      

“Our first few months delivering to Walmart customers have made it clear: Demand for drone delivery is real,” says Wing CEO Adam Woodworth.

“The response has been incredible from customers ordering drone delivery from Walmart every day, and it’s a testament to our partnership that we’re now expanding our footprint to bring this innovative delivery option to millions of Texans. If this milestone is any indication, we believe 2024 is the year of drone delivery.”     

“Autonomous delivery is finally ready for national scale in the US. Zipline is excited to enable Walmart’s vision of providing customer delivery so fast it feels like teleportation,” says Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Co-founder and CEO at Zipline.

“Walmart is leading the US in using robotics and AI to help people save money and live better. 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.”