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If you go outside in Dallas and see something foreign in the sky, we promise it’s (most likely) not Independence Day. It may be a Walmart drone delivering a package, though.
- The company originally announced drone delivery at CES earlier this year, as Retail Brew previously reported. Beginning this month, Walmart will allow select customers in the Dallas metro area use its drone delivery service directly through the Walmart app. It’s the latest move in the company’s customer convenience strategy, which also includes a GenAI-powered shopping assistant, currently in beta testing. Walmart launched its drone delivery service in 2021, and has delivered more than 30,000 packages since its launch. It expects to serve up to 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
Some popular items ordered for drone delivery are ice cream, candy, and other convenience foods, Tom Ward, EVP and chief e-commerce officer at Walmart US, told a group of reporters on Thursday.
While Amazon is also experimenting with drone delivery, Ward believes that Walmart’s infrastructure sets it apart.
“It’s really hard to get customers things in 30 minutes or less…by a drone if you’ve got nowhere to send a product from because it’s just too far,” he said. “Increasingly, as we connect that with new technologies, remove more friction, the customer just has fewer reasons to go anywhere else.”
Maybe keep Jeff Goldblum on speed dial, just in case.