DALLAS — Residents in North Texas will be able to get drone deliveries from Walmart "in 30 minutes or less and some deliveries can happen as fast as 10 minutes," the company announced Tuesday.
Walmart announced its drone delivery expansion for more than 30 towns and municipalities in the DFW metroplex – totaling 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) population – marking the first time a U.S. retailer has offered drone delivery to this many households in a single market. Walmart said drone delivery will be available for up to 1.8 million households.
“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,” said 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.”
Both Wing and Zipline 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), which will enable drone delivery to more Texans than ever before, Walmart officials said in a release.
Walmart said it has trialed drone deliveries for the past two years, completing 20,000 safely and successfully. Walmart said it has seen customers use the drone delivery service for numerous reasons, including when someone needs an item in a pinch, like a forgotten ingredient or over the counter cold medicine. Other customers have chosen this method simply due to convenience, Walmart said.
How to use Walmart's drone delivery service
To place an order, simply visit wing.com/Walmart or flyzipline.com/get-delivery. The delivery radius for stores offering the service will be up to 10 miles.
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