Walmart Introduces Same-Day Drone Deliveries For Over 4M Households
Remember when same-day express shipping was a marvel? Well, retail companies have certainly stepped up their game, with Walmart recently announcing it will expanding its DroneUp delivery network to over four million households by the end of the year.
The initiative, which will allow the brand to delivery over a million packages via air per year, will be first made available in six states, including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
From 8 am to 8 pm daily, customers will be able to choose from tens of thousands of items for delivery, ranging from urgent needs like medication and diapers to your favorite snacks for an impromptu party.
According to Walmart, while the firm initially thought its drone deliveries would be primarily used for emergencies, customers who trialed the service actually chose the shipping method for its sheer convenience, with Hamburger Helper being one of its most requested items.
Each trip is slated to take as little as 30 minutes, and can carry up to 10 pounds of items for a one-time fee of US$3.99. Simply place your order, and wait as your bags are packed, loaded into the drone, and delivered right into your backyard.
In addition to package deliveries, the company said it plans to scale its drone infrastructure to offer local businesses and municipalities aerial solutions in insurance, emergency response, and real estate sectors in the future.
As Walmart founder Sam Walton once put it, the firm has “always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they’ve been,” and it is planning to do just that with its new drone deliveries.
