The interest Amazon has in drone delivery is well known, and more retailers are considering drone operations, including Walmart.
Walmart released a memo from the president of its U.S. business, John Furner, that revealed the retailer has made an investment in DroneUp, an on-demand drone delivery provider.
Walmart partnered with DroneUp last year to launch trial deliveries of at-home COVID-19 self-collection kits. Furner stated that the trial demonstrated Walmart could effectively offer customers delivery in minutes versus hours after safely completing hundreds of drone drop offs from Walmart stores. As such, Furner noted, an investment in DroneUp continues the company’s effort at building a scalable last mile delivery solution. DroneUp operates an on-demand drone delivery network that relies on a database of more than 10,000 Federal Aviation Administration certified pilots to execute operations across the United States. DroneUp, Walmart asserted, was the first operator to use the FAA 107.39 waiver, which allows it to conduct delivery flights over people and moving vehicles. The retailer said it plans to begin its first drone delivery operations in the vicinity of its Bentonville, AK, headquarters during the coming months.
The interest in drone operations is gaining among major retailers. In May, for example, The Kroger Co. announced a pilot program with Drone Express, a division of TELEGRID Technologies, that would offer grocery delivery via autonomous drones. Kroger developed bundled product offerings to address customer needs within the current weight limits for drone delivery, about five pounds. Kroger created a baby-care bundle with wipes and formula, a child wellness bundle with over-the-counter medications and fluids and a S’mores bundle with graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate. The company designed the program so that Kroger.com/DroneDelivery customers could place orders and have them delivered within as few as 15 minutes.
