Retail giant Walmart is expanding its drone delivery program to 1.8 million more households to enhance its customer experience in Texas. The company will look to achieve this by using drone delivery systems operated by startup Zipline and by Alphabet subsidiary Wing.
Walmart launched its drone delivery program with Zipline and DroneUp in Arkansas in 2021 before expanding to more states in 2022. The newly expanded service in Texas allows customers living within 10 miles of a participating Walmart to get items delivered to their homes via drone.
These delivery drones offer fast service, with Walmart packages arriving between 10 and 30 minutes after placing orders from stores up to 10 miles away. Walmart touts the technology for people who need missing cooking ingredients, last-minute birthday gifts, over-the-counter medications or movie night snacks.
Speaking on the latest move by the company, Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon said, “We build technology to serve people and not the other way around,” adding that “Walmart’s purpose is to help people live better and, today, more than ever, advances in technology make it feel like anything is possible.” So far, Walmart has completed over 20,000 successful drone deliveries.
