Walmart to expand drone delivery to hundreds of stores
(CBS NEWS) – Sources from CBS say Walmart plans to expand its drone delivery service in the next two years, giving customers the option to place aerial orders from hundreds of additional store locations.
The retail giant will offer drone deliveries for groceries and other store items through its partnership with Alphabet-owned drone operator Wing at an additional 150 stores in 2026, Wing announced on Sunday, calling it the “world’s largest drone delivery expansion.”
This comes after Walmart announced plans last year to launch drone deliveries at another 100 stores. Walmart, which already provides drone-based delivery from some locations in Texas and in the Atlanta metro area, plans to expand the service to a total of 270 U.S. locations by the end of 2027.
Walmart operates more than 4,600 stores in the U.S.
Greg Cathey, senior vice president of digital fulfillment transformation at Walmart, said in a statement that the expansion will make it more convenient for customers to procure essential items, such as last-minute dinner ingredients.
Home drone deliveries have slowly been gaining momentum since 2019, when the Federal Aviation Administration approved aerial commercial package deliveries. Other companies using drones for drop-offs include food delivery service DoorDash, which also partners with Wing, and e-commerce giant Amazon.
To get their orders by air, Walmart customers can download the Wing app and then type in their address to see if they are within the delivery range. Walmart has said in the past that customers can receive deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes.
Walmart announced its partnership with Wing in 2023. The expansion will provide drone delivery to more than 40 million Americans, Wing estimated. The service will be offered in Los Angeles. St. Louis, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Miami, with additional locations to be specified at a future date.
