Despite having to close 18 delivery hubs in recent times and scaling down drone deliveries from the initial six states to three, Walmart’s CEO insists that these rapid deliveries are going to play a huge role in the company’s future. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference in New York, Doug McMillon described how he had gotten a drone delivery of wine at home when his wife discovered she was missing cooking wine as an ingredient for their dinner.
McMillon told the audience: "But what we had was a drone delivery in less than 15 minutes that dropped it right at my front door, and that was pretty cool." The company currently offers drone deliveries in three locations in the US, which are Dallas, Virginia Beach and Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered. “Our future looks like big baskets moving slowly at a value and urgent deliveries happening in a really fast time in a variety of ways,” said McMillon.
The company has the aim of becoming the largest drone delivery footprint of any retailer in the US, says Business Insider. It is focused on extending its reach within the three locations where the drone service is offered already but his speech would suggest more expansion is on the horizon.
At the moment, the retailer charges $12.99 per drone trip for Walmart+ members and $19.99 per delivery for non-members. This model mirrors Amazon Prime membership and it is the eCommerce giant that is Walmart’s biggest competitor in the drone space. Amazon has just completed its first-ever drone delivery in Italy but has been forced to delay its plans for the service roll-out in the UK. The retailer hasn’t flagged plans in any other European country as yet.
