Walmart's drone delivery spreads its wings to 100 more stores – is yours one?

Walmart is expanding its drone delivery service in a big way.

In an announcement this week, the retail giant said it’s adding five major cities and 100 more stores to its list of locations where it delivers orders by drone: Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa.

Its current partnership with Wing (owned by Google parent company Alphabet) offers delivery in just over a dozen stores in Bentonville, Arkansas (the home of Walmart headquarters) and Dallas, Texas. 

Also: Honey, the Amazon humanoid delivery robot is here! (well, almost)

If you live in one of the new cities, you can sign up at wing.com/walmart to find out when drone delivery is available at your specific address. Drones are limited by FAA regulations, so you can check your address here to see if a drone can even fly where you are.

Here’s how delivery works.

When you add drone delivery-eligible items to your cart, you’ll see the option at checkout to reserve a spot. After that, you’ll confirm your specific drop-off area on a map. There’s no order minimum (videos on social media show customers ordering items like a single soda) and no extra charge for Walmart+ customers. The drones can even make several drops back-to-back without returning to the store each time. 

The company plans to add more drone locations. “As we look ahead, drone delivery will remain a key part of our commitment to redefining retail,” said Greg Cathey, senior vice president of Walmart US transformation and innovation, in a statement.

Walmart isn’t alone in its efforts to take deliveries to the skies. Several other companies, including DoorDash and Amazon, also offer drone delivery. Amazon recently paused its service after software issues. It has since resumed after fixing the problem, but complaints about noise and concerns over danger to birds persist. Amazon’s drone delivery service is currently available in College Station, Texas, and Tolleson, Arizona.

Also: I tested DJI’s latest flagship drone, and it’s straight from the future (with one caveat)

Since the program started in 2021, Walmart said it has completed more than 150,000 drone deliveries – some in as little as 30 minutes or less. Fresh fruit, eggs, ice cream, and pet food are among the most frequently ordered items, as well as medicine and baby formula.

Early versions of the Wing drone could only carry a payload of 2.5 pounds, but the new version doubles that to 5 pounds.

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