Walmart is stepping up its battle with Amazon for delivery dominance, expanding its drone delivery program into three more states. The move, announced Monday, marks a significant leap in the retail giant’s push to become the most tech-enabled retailer in America.
Teaming up with Wing, a drone company owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, Walmart will now offer drone deliveries from 100 store locations across Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa. These new sites build upon existing operations in Northwest Arkansas and Texas, making Walmart the first U.S. retailer to deploy drone delivery at scale across five states: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas.
“This is real drone delivery at scale,” said Wing CEO Adam Woodworth.
Under 30-Minute Deliveries and a 6-Mile Range
Wing’s drones are capable of flying beyond visual line of sight with a 6-mile aircraft range, enabling ultra-fast delivery. According to Walmart, deliveries consistently reach customers in under 30 minutes, fulfilling everything from snacks to over-the-counter medicine with astonishing speed.
“People all around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have made drone delivery part of their normal shopping habits over the past year,” Walmart stated. “Now we’re excited to share this ultra-fast delivery experience with millions more people across many more U.S. cities.”
Since launching its drone initiatives in 2021, Walmart has completed more than 150,000 drone deliveries through collaborations with Wing and Zipline, two of the biggest names in drone logistics.
Drone Rivalry Heats Up Between Walmart and Amazon
While Walmart is broadening its sky-high ambitions, Amazon isn’t standing still. The online behemoth began testing drone services in 2022, offering them to select customers in College Station, Texas, and West Valley, Arizona. In a May blog post, Amazon noted it had “made the process more streamlined and seamless” and signaled plans to expand the service.
Amazon’s drone ambitions are part of a larger fulfillment strategy. The company recently revealed that more than 2 billion items were delivered same or next day in early 2024, setting a record for Prime delivery speeds. In March alone, nearly 60% of Prime member orders in the top 60 U.S. metro areas arrived the same or next day.
Still, Walmart is betting that airborne innovation—not just ground-level logistics—will give it an edge.
More Than Just Drones: Walmart’s Full Delivery Arsenal
Beyond drones, Walmart has been rolling out a suite of ultra-convenient delivery options. These include:
- Express Delivery, offering 30-minute product drop-offs
- Late-Night Delivery, designed for off-hours convenience
- InHome Delivery, where drivers can place items directly inside customers’ refrigerators
Meanwhile, Walmart’s partnership with Zipline originally launched in Arkansas in 2021, has quietly expanded. Zipline’s tethered drone system drops packages with extreme precision and has contributed significantly to Walmart’s 150,000+ delivery milestone.
Drone Wars Signal Retail’s Next Frontier
As traditional retail continues to evolve, speed and convenience are shaping the new battleground. Walmart’s expansion is a direct response to shifting consumer expectations in a world where 30 minutes is becoming the new normal.
With regulatory approvals, airspace coordination, and logistics infrastructure now aligning, drone delivery is no longer a future fantasy, it’s the next chapter of real-time retail.
And in this high-stakes game of sky supremacy, Walmart is making it clear: the race is on.
