Walmart shoppers in metro Atlanta may soon see their orders dropping out of the sky.
The retail giant is expanding drone-delivery with Wing, the drone company owned by Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The move brings the service to tens of thousands of homes across the region. Customers will be able to order grocery staples, household items and over-the-counter medicine for drone delivery from six Walmart stores in Woodstock, Conyers, Hiram, Dallas, McDonough and Loganville areas.
“Atlanta is a powerhouse in aviation, and we’re bringing the same spirit of speed and efficiency to thousands of Walmart customers across the Metro just in time for the busiest season of the year,” Heather Rivera, Wing’s chief business officer, said in a statement. “This launch is a critical next step in our expansion, turning drone delivery from novelty to norm.”
The Atlanta rollout is part of Wing’s plan to expand to five new metros and 100 additional Walmart stores by 2026, including locations in Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa.
Wing will power drone deliveries from six Walmart locations in metro Atlanta.
Related: Walmart Expands Drone Delivery with Wing to More U.S. Cities
From testing to scaled service
This builds on Wing and Walmart’s success in the Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW) area, where drone delivery has become a real, scaled service. Wing currently completes thousands of deliveries each week in DFW, averaging less than 19 minutes from order to drop-off and reaching about 2 million people.
Wing also introduced key technology in Dallas, its Autoloader, a curbside device that automatically loads orders onto drones.
The Atlanta launch lands amid growing momentum for drone delivery across the U.S., especially in retail and restaurants.
Related: Drones Set to Transform Restaurant Delivery
Walmart also works with Zipline, another major drone operator. Additional companies partnering with restaurants are DroneUp, Flytrex and Matternet.
