Posts Tagged “drone grocery delivery”
Walmart is expanding its DroneUp delivery network to 34 sites by the end the year, providing the potential to reach 4 million U.S. households across six states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah and Virginia. This provides the company with the ability to deliver over 1 million packages by drone in a year.
“We continue to expand our delivery operations to help customers get the items they need when they need them, and it’s been an exciting journey,” said David Guggina, senior vice president of innovation and automation. “From Express delivery, where customers can have items delivered to their doorsteps in as little as two hours, to InHome, where they can get those orders placed right into their refrigerators, we’re proud to offer customers multiple options that help them save time and money.”
Between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., customers will be able to order from tens of thousands of eligible items for delivery by air in as little as 30 minutes. Customers can order items totaling up to 10 pounds.
After completing hundreds of deliveries within a matter of months across its existing DroneUp hubs, Walmart has seen how drones can offer customers a practical solution for getting certain items, fast. “More importantly, we’ve seen a positive response from our customers that have used the service,” said Guggina. “In fact, while we initially thought customers would use the service for emergency items, we’re finding they use it for its sheer convenience, like a quick fix for a weeknight meal. Case in point: The top-selling item at one of our current hubs is Hamburger Helper.”
Participating stores will house a DroneUp delivery hub inclusive of a team of certified pilots, operating within FAA guidelines, that safely manage flight operations for deliveries. Once a customer places an order, the item is fulfilled from the store, packaged, loaded into the drone and delivered right to their yard using a cable that gently lowers the package.
DroneUp will also offer local businesses and municipalities aerial drone solutions in areas like insurance, emergency response and real estate. For example, a local construction agency can work with DroneUp to monitor on-site job progress through aerial drone photography.
Walmart said the added revenue help offset the cost of delivery and it also serves the entire drone industry by gathering more flight data to expand drone operations in a safe and regulated way.
Guggina said: “Our founder Mr. Sam once said, ‘I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they’ve been.’ We’re doing just that with drone technology, making it a feasible solution that we know customers and communities will enjoy.”
CINCINNATI and MONROE, OH — The Kroger Co. and Drone Express, a division of TELEGRID Technologies, Inc., recently announced a pilot to offer grocery delivery via autonomous drones, expanding the retailer’s seamless ecosystem and providing customers with anything, anytime, anywhere.
“Kroger’s new drone delivery pilot is part of the evolution of our rapidly growing and innovative e-commerce business – which includes pickup, delivery, and ship and reached more than $10 billion in sales in 2020,” said Kroger’s Jody Kalmbach, group vice president of product experience. “The pilot reinforces the importance of flexibility and immediacy to customers, powered by modern, cost-effective, and efficient last-mile solutions. We’re excited to test drone delivery and gain insights that will inform expansion plans as well as future customer solutions.”
The pilot will offer customers unparalleled flexibility as Drone Express technology allows package delivery to the location of a customer’s smartphone not only to a street address, simply meaning a customer will be able to order delivery of picnic supplies to a park, sunscreen to the beach, or condiments to a backyard cookout, for instance.
Kroger is designing bundled product offerings ideal for meeting customer needs within the current weight limits for drone delivery, which is about five pounds. As an illustration, Kroger will offer a baby care bundle with wipes and formula, a child wellness bundle with over-the-counter medications and fluids, and a S’mores bundle with graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. Using Kroger.com/DroneDelivery, customers can place orders and have eligible orders delivered within as little as 15 minutes.
“Autonomous drones have unlimited potential to improve everyday life, and our technology opens the way to safe, secure, environmentally friendly deliveries for Kroger customers,” said Beth Flippo, Chief Technology Officer, TELEGRID. “The possibilities for customers are endless – we can enable Kroger customers to send chicken soup to a sick friend or get fast delivery of olive oil if they run out while cooking dinner.”
Drone Express commenced test flights in early May near the Kroger Marketplace in Centerville, Ohio (1095 South Main Street). The flights were managed by licensed Drone Express pilots from an on-site trailer with additional off-site monitoring. Customer deliveries are scheduled to begin later this spring, and a second pilot is scheduled to launch this summer at a Ralphs store in California.