Walmart has agreed to a multi-year partnership with drone delivery company Zipline to add 300 delivery locations across the US, widening its national drone logistics operation. The deployment builds upon an existing programme between the retailer and Zipline that commenced in 2021.
Walmart stated that its drone delivery scheme has so far completed more than two million deliveries. Where available, the service delivers eligible products in as fast as 30 minutes. Customers within the designated service radius can select drone fulfilment via the Walmart website or mobile application, or place qualifying orders through the Zipline app. Drops are made directly to front gardens, back gardens, or driveways, with Zipline aircraft remaining approximately 330ft above the ground while an order pod is lowered on a tether.
The retailer noted that 90% of the US population lives within ten miles of one of its stores, offering an established network to support the expansion. Walmart e-commerce fulfilment transformation senior vice-president Greg Cathey said the company's stores put it close to the communities it serves, allowing it to build on that proximity with Zipline. Zipline CEO and co-founder Keller Cliffton stated that customers order multiple times a day and that receiving items in 10-30 minutes removes anxiety from life by letting people plan around loved ones rather than errands.
The aerial service is part of Walmart’s wider same-day fulfilment options, which also include delivery in 30 minutes or less in selected markets, express delivery within one hour, on-demand dispatch in as little as three hours, and scheduled delivery windows. The logistics expansion follows the introduction last month of Agent Profiles and the Walmart Agent Gateway across Walmart and its Sam’s Club subsidiary, which allow authorised artificial intelligence agents to conduct customer transactions subject to designated expenditure limits.
Also reported by FreightWaves
