Walmart rolls out new delivery method

Walmart rolls out new delivery method

Walmart is rolling out a state-of-the-art delivery method for parts of the country.

The nation’s largest retailer announced this week it is teaming up with Wing, an on-demand drone delivery provider powered by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. The service will initially be offered from two stores in the Dallas metro area in the coming months, reaching as many as 60,000 homes.

“Working with Wing directly aligns with our passion for finding innovative and eco-friendly last-mile delivery solutions to get customers the items they want, when they want them. With drones that can fly beyond visual line of sight, we’re able to unlock on-demand delivery for customers living within an approximate 6-mile range of the stores that offer the service,” wrote Prathibha Rajashekhar, SVP Innovation & Automation, Walmart U.S. in a release.

It’s not Walmart’s first foray into drone delivery. The company is also offering it across seven states – Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia – in 36 stores, completing more than 10,000 safe deliveries.

Drone service will first be offered at the Preston Road Walmart location in Frisco, Texas. Once operational, customers can download the Wing app from the App Store or Google Play and enter their address to determine if they are within the drone delivery area. If they are, they can order just about anything – frozen goods, household essentials and food items, even fragile things like eggs.