The option to receive your Walmart deliveries via a flying drone is coming to more US customers.
On Tuesday, Walmart announced it’s expanding its drone delivery network across six states by the end of this year. The coverage will span 4 million households in states including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
The delivery system works by using an aerial drone to carry the e-commerce order from a Walmart store to a customer’s home. The drone will then gently lower the shipment near the home using a deployable cable.
“Between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., customers will be able to order from tens of thousands of eligible items, such as Tylenol, diapers and hot dog buns, for delivery by air in as little as 30 minutes,” the company said.
Walmart is offering the drone deliveries as a form of express delivery over the company’s existing two-hour, next-day and two-day shipping services. Interested customers will only need to pay a $3.99 delivery fee and individual orders can reach up to 10 pounds in size.
The drones come from a company called DroneUp, which has been partnering with Walmart on the delivery system. In November, the retail giant launched three DroneUp hubs to support air-based drone deliveries for Walmart customers in northwest Arkansas.
Through the existing hubs, the drone system has completed “hundreds deliveries” and received a positive response from users, Walmart said in Tuesday’s announcement. “In fact, while we initially thought customers would use the service for emergency items, we’re finding they use it for its sheer convenience, like a quick fix for a weeknight meal. Case in point: The top-selling item at one of our current hubs is Hamburger Helper,” the company added.
The new expansion will involve creating additional DroneUp hubs at 34 Walmart sites by the end of this year. All the drones will also be flown using certified human pilots instead of automation.