Walmart has recently launched a new delivery service in partnership with the tech-company DroneUp, aimed at making shopping more convenient for its customers. The service will allow Walmart to deliver products to its customers in as little as 30 minutes by air.
DroneUp, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, operates commercially throughout the United States and joined forces with Walmart in 2021 to explore the benefits that drones could bring to communities, organizations, and businesses. This is a game changer, since a lot of costumers should not be driving to the store for small purchases or for a last-minute shopping for parties, cooking or other daily-basis needs.
Walmart Will Change the Shopping Experience Forever, and Other Retailers Are Being Left Behind
This may look like a little bit futuristic, but it’s actually set to work in selected Walmart locations, as a pilot plan. To use the service, customers can log into the DroneUp website, select the items they wish to purchase, and the on-site workers will then pull the item from the store, package it, and load it into the drone. The drone will be programmed to take flight along a pre-approved route before dropping the items at the customer’s doorstep within 30 minutes.
However, there are some restrictions on the service, including a maximum weight of 10 pounds and deliveries must be within a 1-mile range of the store. Currently, the service is available only to Tampa Bay residents, but Walmart plans to expand its DroneUp delivery network to 34 sites across Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, and Virginia by the end of 2023.
Find Out if Your Local Walmart Offers the Service
Initially, Walmart thought that customers would mainly use the service for emergency items. However, they are finding that many are using it out of sheer convenience. This is not the first time Walmart has gone the extra mile to provide customer satisfaction. In 2020, the retailer turned four of its locations into technology test centers where shoppers have access to products and technologies before they are launched to the public.
In a statement, Walmart wrote: “Our founder Mr. Sam once said, ‘I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they’ve been.’ We’re doing just that with drone technology, making it a feasible solution that we know customers and communities will enjoy.”
For now, Walmart is going to be testing the drone delivery system in a few locations in the United States. The customers of these stores will be notified if they are subscribed to the mailing lists of the location, or through other official communication channels. If the project turns out to be successful, it will be expanded nationwide and even your store will have this future-looking delivery service, if it doesn’t already have it.
So far, other retailer chains, like Costco, Trader Joe’s or even Aldi, haven’t announced that they’ll offer a similar service. So, Walmart is winning this race.