Attention walmart buyers: Drones swarm around more of the retailer’s stores across the United States
Nearby customers Walmart Supercenter in Winter Havenin Florida, are among the latest to have the ability to deliver groceries by drone in 30 minutes or less.
The store just east of Lakeland was among 36 Walmart stores in seven states that have drone delivery centers recently launched by DroneUp, Flytrex and Zipline.
Walmart and other large companies including Amazon have plunged into drone delivery in recent years. Walmart started testing drone delivery in 2020 and in 2021 announced an investment in the drone company DroneUp. Since then, the retailer has continued to offer drone deliveries to more markets and customers.
Where in the US does Walmart offer drone deliveries?
Texas
- Neighborhood market #2975
3959 Broadway Boulevard, Garland, TX - Walmart Supercenter #3224
555 W Interstate 30, Garland, TX - Walmart Supercenter #1800
1801 Marketplace Drive, Garland, TX - Walmart Supercenter #2973
115 West FM 544, Murphy, TX - Neighborhood market #5657
3100 Custer Rd, Plano, TX - Neighborhood Market #2974
1501 Buckingham Road, Richardson, TX - Neighborhood market #2976
915 N Town East Blvd, Mesquite, TX - Neighborhood market #3015
2827 S Buckner Blvd, Dallas, TX - Neighborhood market #5021
2275 Gus Thomasson Road, Dallas, TX - Walmart Supercenter #3225
2501 Lakeview Pkwy, Rowlett, TX - Walmart Supercenter #426
4691 State Highway 121, Colony, Texas
Florida
- Walmart Supercenter #2695
1450 Johns Lake Rd, Clermont, Florida - Walmart Supercenter #994
8745 State Road 54, New Port Richey, Florida - Walmart Supercenter #941
2140 Bloomingdale Avenue, Valrico, Florida - Walmart Supercenter #5299
550 Us Highway 27, Clermont, Florida - Walmart Supercenter #3347
7450 Cypress Gardens Blvd, Winter Haven, Florida - Walmart Supercenter #2740
19910 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, Florida - Walmart Supercenter #3463
1208 E Brandon Blvd, Brandon, Florida - Neighborhood market #5622
10863 Bloomingdale Avenue, Riverview, Florida - Walmart #925
11720 E Dr Martin Luther King, Seffner, Florida
Arizona
- Neighborhood market #4293
2435 E Baseline Road, Phoenix, Arizona - Neighborhood Market #3314
7450 W Glendale Ave, Glendale, Arizona - Walmart Supercenter #3896
21655 N Lake Pleasant Pkwy, Peoria, Arizona - Walmart Supercenter #1533
7975 W Peoria Ave, Peoria, Arizona - Walmart Supercenter #3241
18551 N 83rd Ave, Glendale, Arizona - Walmart Supercenter #1532
5845 W Bell Rd, Glendale, Arizona
Arkansas
- Neighborhood market #7242
367 W Main St, Farmington, Arkansas - Walmart Supercenter #100
406 S Walton Blvd, Bentonville, Arkansas - Neighborhood market #5837
5000 W Pauline Whitaker Pkwy, Rogers, Arkansas - Neighborhood market #6971
240 Slack Street, Pea Ridge, Arkansas
Virginia
- Neighborhood market #6226
1832 Kempsville Road, Virginia Beach, Virginia - Walmart Supercenter #3216
1149 Nimmo Pkwy, Virginia Beach, Virginia - Walmart Supercenter #2529
- 2021 Lynnhaven Pkwy, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Utah
- Walmart Supercenter #5270
585 N State St, Lindon, Utah - Neighborhood market #7168
- 5056 W 13400 S, Herriman, Utah
North Carolina
- Walmart Supercenter #5787
4545 Fayetteville Road, Raeford, North Carolina
How far can you get your Walmart groceries delivered?
So far, drone deliveries are only allowed within a 0.8-mile radius, but as soon as the Federal Aviation Administration allows it, aerial drop-offs could expand to a 2-mile radius from the store, as some locations on the west coast are already under consideration.
How many groceries can you have delivered?
The service comes in a 10-pound capacity box that can hold about two loaves of bread.
Over 10,000 eligible items are available for delivery, there is no minimum order amount and the delivery charge is $3.99.
So far, prescription drugs aren’t being flown in, but that’s in the works for later this year. Some drone delivery centers have been operating for a year, including one in Walmart’s hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas.
Last year, according to Walmart, drone hubs made 6,000 deliveries.
Top five customer orders:
- Cookies
- Ice
- Lemons
- Roast chicken
- Red Bull
- Paper napkins
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How it works?
Keith Christensen, Hub Manager at DroneUp, said The big bookwhich is part of the USA TODAY Network, customers near Winter Haven Walmart can order through the website (droneupdelivery.com) between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily.
The drone hub employee then takes their smartphone with them inside the Walmart store and selects the order for the customer, Christensen said. The hub employee enters each item they purchase on their phone and customers can see the progress of their order in real time.
“Once the aircraft is airborne, another update will be sent to the customer indicating that the drone is in the air and on its way to your home,” he said.
The drones reach a cruising altitude of approximately 223 feet after takeoff from the Winter Haven hub and hover over the delivery location at 80 feet after arrival. A winch lowers the box containing the items to the ground and it detaches once the box makes a soft landing on the ground. The winch system then frees itself from the box and backs towards the drone before the aircraft returns to the hub at 223 feet.
Walmart customers can expect more stores to be delivered by drone. The retailer said the its corporate website4,700 Walmart stores are located in 90% of the U.S. population, putting the multinational retailer “in a unique position to offer drone delivery at scale.”
Contributor: Paul Nutcher, The Ledger
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.