Walmart is expanding its drone delivery to hundreds of additional stores

Walmart is expanding its drone delivery service to another 150 stores, aiming to bring roughly 40 million Americans into its flight range this year.

The retail giant's drone partner Wing — part of Google's parent company Alphabet — said on Monday that it planned to bring "ultra-fast" aerial shipments to Los Angeles, St Louis, Cincinnati, Miami, and other cities yet to be announced.

Combined with the company's already-planned expansion into Houston, Orlando, Tampa, and Charlotte, North Carolina, that would bring the number of stores offering Wing's service to a total of 270 by the end of 2027.

It will also help Walmart compete with its biggest rival, Amazon, which has been testing its Prime Air service in California, Texas, the UK and Italy for several years.

"Drone delivery plays an important role in our ability to deliver what customers want, exactly when they want it," said Greg Cathey, Walmart's senior vice president of digital fulfilment transformation.

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"Whether it’s a last-minute ingredient for dinner, a must-have charger for a phone, or a late-night essential for a busy family, the strong adoption we’ve seen confirms that this is the future of convenience.

"By expanding drone delivery to new major metro areas, we are helping more customers solve their last-minute needs faster than ever before."

Companies including Amazon, DoorDash, and even Chipotle have been eagerly building drone delivery services, but have struggled to get off the ground due to regulation, high operating costs, and teething tech troubles.

That is now starting to change after the Federal Aviation Administration proposed new rules allowing drone companies to fly beyond a human operator's line of sight as long as they meet certain conditions, instead of needing to obtain a special waiver.

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Criminals have also been getting in on the action, using drones to ferry contraband such as raw steak and cigarettes over prison walls.

But hurdles remain. Federal officials are investigating an incident in which an Amazon delivery drone made contact with an overhead internet cable in Waco, Texas, in November, as well as a crash between Amazon drones and a construction crane in Arizona in October.

Meanwhile, a report by McKinsey last year found that drone delivery was still far more expensive than ground, at an estimated $13.50 per package vs $1.90 by van — largely due to the requirement that each drone be individually monitored by a human employee.

Walmart's drone delivery service launched in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area in 2022. As long as you're in a covered area, it's free for members of the company's $12.95 per month Walmart+ subscription bundle, and costs $19.99 per delivery for ordinary customers.

"We’ve spent years building our technology to ensure that when you realize you’re out of eggs or need over-the-counter medicine, the solution is just a few taps away, seamlessly integrated into existing store operations," said Wing CEO Adam Woodworth.

"We believe even the smallest package deserves the speed and reliability of a great delivery service. Working with Walmart has allowed us to prove that delivering these critical, everyday items in minutes makes a significant difference for families."