Walmart is preparing for a major expansion of its drone delivery program, aiming to bring aerial deliveries to hundreds of additional stores and dramatically increase the number of U.S. shoppers who can receive orders by air within minutes.

The retail giant said it plans to roll out drone delivery service at roughly 150 more stores over the next year through a partnership with Wing, a drone delivery company owned by Alphabet. The goal is to offer drone delivery at more than 270 Walmart locations across the country by the end of 2027.

If the expansion moves forward as planned, Wing estimates that more than 40 million Walmart customers could have access to drone delivery, up sharply from roughly 2 million today. The service is currently concentrated in limited metro areas including Dallas Fort Worth and parts of Atlanta.

“We want to help customers get what they want, when they want and where they want it,” said Greg Cathey, senior vice president of digital fulfillment transformation at Walmart. “Drone delivery is especially helpful when customers need just one to a handful of items fast.”

From Pilot Programs to National Scale

Walmart first launched drone delivery in the Dallas Fort Worth area in 2022 and has since expanded to parts of Atlanta, Northwest Arkansas and Charlotte, North Carolina. The new rollout would bring the service to much larger markets, including Los Angeles, Houston, Cincinnati, St. Louis and several major Florida cities such as Orlando, Tampa and Miami.

The company also works with another drone operator, Zipline, which provides drone delivery services in parts of Texas and Arkansas. Zipline is best known for medical supply delivery in rural and hard to reach areas, but it has increasingly expanded into commercial retail logistics.

While drone delivery has been tested by several companies over the past few years, most efforts have remained small and regional. Walmart’s latest move signals a shift from experimentation toward scaling the technology as part of its long term fulfillment strategy.

How the Drone Deliveries Work

Wing’s delivery drones are designed to carry packages weighing up to five pounds and can travel up to six miles each way. Orders are packed into small boxes that are attached to a tether beneath the drone. Once the drone reaches the customer’s home, it lowers the package to the ground and releases it, allowing delivery without landing in yards or driveways.

Most deliveries arrive in 30 minutes or less, making the service competitive with, and in some cases faster than, traditional same day or one hour delivery options offered by delivery apps.

Wing says customers often use drone delivery for last minute purchases such as dinner ingredients, baby products or over the counter medicine. According to the company, about one quarter of its drone delivery users now place orders three times a week, suggesting that once customers adopt the service, many make it part of their regular shopping habits.

Walmart offers free drone delivery to Walmart+ members, while non members are charged $19.99 per delivery through Walmart’s website. Customers can also receive free drone delivery when ordering directly through the Wing app.

Neither Walmart nor Wing has disclosed how much each drone delivery costs to operate, though industry analysts say costs are expected to fall as flight automation increases and regulations allow for larger scale operations.

Regulatory Changes Are Opening the Door

One of the biggest obstacles to drone delivery has been U.S. aviation rules that required drones to stay within visual line of sight of a human operator. That requirement made it difficult to scale services because it required employees to monitor individual flights, limiting cost savings.

Federal regulators proposed new rules last year that would allow more drones to operate beyond visual line of sight, which would enable centralized monitoring and much broader delivery coverage.

Robin Riedel, an expert in the drone delivery industry and executive vice president for aviation and future mobility at Metropolis Technologies, said the regulatory environment is improving.

“All the fundamental hurdles we would have talked about three years ago, we’ve overcome,” Riedel said. “We just now need to actually scale and get it out there.”

While final approval of the new regulations is still pending, companies like Walmart appear to be positioning themselves for rapid expansion once broader approvals are in place.

Retail Competition Is Driving Faster Delivery

Walmart’s drone push also reflects growing pressure in retail to offer faster and more flexible delivery options. Amazon, DoorDash and several grocery chains have tested drone or autonomous delivery programs, though few have announced national scale deployments.

For Walmart, drone delivery fits into a broader strategy to use its massive store footprint as localized fulfillment centers. With more than 4,600 U.S. stores, Walmart can position inventory closer to customers, reducing shipping times and last mile delivery costs.

Drone delivery may also help Walmart protect market share against convenience driven competitors, especially for small urgent orders where shoppers might otherwise turn to delivery apps or quick commerce services.

From an investor standpoint, faster fulfillment and improved customer loyalty are critical as Walmart continues to battle margin pressures from labor, transportation costs and rising competition in e commerce.

What It Means for Shoppers and Investors

For shoppers, the expansion means more access to near instant delivery for everyday essentials, potentially reshaping how people think about quick errands and emergency purchases.

For investors, Walmart’s drone expansion highlights several key trends. Retailers are investing heavily in automation to control long term labor costs. Companies are increasingly integrating physical stores into digital logistics networks. Speed and convenience are becoming competitive weapons rather than premium add ons.

While drone delivery alone is unlikely to move Walmart’s stock in the short term, it plays into the company’s broader digital and fulfillment strategy that Wall Street continues to watch closely.

If regulatory approvals accelerate and consumer adoption continues to grow, drone delivery could become a meaningful part of Walmart’s logistics ecosystem rather than just a novelty.

For now, Walmart’s latest announcement signals that the company believes the technology is ready to move from limited pilots into mainstream retail operations.