"For more than half a decade, Walmart has been testing a variety of drones to assess the viability of airborne deliveries. On Tuesday, a Walmart executive said the company now believes drone deliveries are ready to become a key part of the retail giant's operations. Drone delivery will "be in most areas that we operate in," Walmart Senior Vice President of Technology and Innovation Greg Cathey said Tuesday. While Cathey did not provide a specific timeline, he made it clear that the retail giant is moving beyond small-scale tests."
""The regulatory environment is making it where this can be a viable business for us," Cathey said on stage at the UP.Summit in the city where Walmart is headquartered, Bentonville, Ark. While drone delivery is only currently available at a small handful of Walmart's more than 4,600 U.S. locations-via partnerships with drone-makers Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet, and Zipline, a startup backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz-Cathey's comments mark a notable transition in how major companies are treating drone delivery."
"Walmart signaled its increasing commitment to drones in June, when it announced it would expand its partnership with Alphabet's Wing to offer delivery across 100 of its stores in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa. On stage Tuesday, Cathey said "100 stores is just the start," and announced that Walmart would add another region to the mix: Northwest Arkansas, where it is headquartered, with a delivery operation at a Walmart across the street from the retailer's old headquarters in Bentonville, as well as a location nearby in Rogers, Ark."
Walmart has tested drones for more than half a decade to evaluate airborne deliveries. The company now considers drone deliveries ready to become a core part of its operations and expects them to be available across most operating areas. Improved regulatory conditions are making drone delivery a more viable business opportunity. Current availability exists at a small number of locations through partnerships with Wing and Zipline. Walmart announced expansion to 100 Wing-served stores and will add Northwest Arkansas operations, with plans to add many more locations as drone delivery becomes integral to its logistics strategy.
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