Walmart Inc. and Wing Aviation LLC announced on Oct. 5 that they are pursuing an expansion of drone delivery services to U.S. cities, specifically Denver and Seattle, in 2027. Walmart’s drone deliveries are already active in Atlanta, Houston and Orlando.
The new expansion is part of a plan to establish Walmart’s drone delivery service in nearly 20 major urban markets, according to Axios. Wing is an autonomous drone delivery company owned by Alphabet.
Although existing delivery options remain, Walmart customers will have the additional option of paying for drones to deliver their packages from neighboring stores. Colorado Public Radio said that Wing’s drones can travel at speeds of 60 miles per hour and are able to carry packages that weigh up to five pounds.
The drones are also able to deliver in under 30 minutes to destinations within six miles of the launch location.
As Walmart prepares to launch the drones, Colorado communities such as Parker and Castle have expressed concerns about the technology. The municipalities temporarily halted the approval of drone delivery hubs due to the rise of potential problems involving noise and privacy.
Drones are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration while in the air; however, local governments retain authority when it comes to takeoffs and landings.
In Northglenn, Colorado, Mayor Meredith Leighty explained that Walmart had brought up the idea to the city council of launching drone deliveries from its local store instead of a dedicated drone delivery center.
For the company, utilizing existing stores could make service expansion more efficient, but this remains contingent on local approval.
In addition to Walmart, competitors like Amazon are currently working to expand their own drone delivery service, Prime Air, to nearly 500 cities and towns in the United States by the end of 2026.
Similarly, DoorDash recently launched its own program called DoorDash Air. “We want drone delivery to work for any merchant, anywhere,” Harrison Shih, head of DoorDash Air, said in a statement to Fortune.
Walmart partnered not only with Wing but also with other drone delivery companies such as Zipline.
A Walmart representative told Fortune that drone deliveries won’t replace existing options but will instead introduce a new one. “Drone delivery gives customers another choice when speed matters, complementing our broader suite of same-day delivery options so they can choose what works best for each shopping mission,” the Walmart representative said.
