Walmart’s drone delivery service is about to hit your neighborhood

Alphabet-owned Wing and Walmart have announced plans to expand drone delivery to 150 additional Walmart stores over the next year, setting the stage for what they’re calling the largest residential drone delivery network in the world. Once fully built out, the partnership aims to reach more than 40 million Americans, with over 270 drone-enabled Walmart locations by 2027, spanning from coast to coast.

The expansion marks a shift from regional pilots to a genuinely national rollout. Drone delivery, once treated as a novelty or limited test, is now being positioned as a standard delivery option inside Walmart’s broader fulfillment strategy. In other words, it’s no longer a question of if drone delivery will arrive in more cities, but when.

The move builds on momentum from established markets like Dallas–Fort Worth and Metro Atlanta, where drone delivery has quietly become part of everyday shopping behavior. According to Wing, its top 25% of customers in these regions order drone deliveries up to three times a week, and total delivery volumes have tripled over the past six months. That kind of repeat usage is a strong signal that drone delivery is solving real-world problems, not just creating buzz.

New service areas will include major metro regions such as Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Miami, with more markets expected to be announced. This also accelerates previously disclosed expansion plans for Houston, Orlando, Tampa, and Charlotte. Operations in Houston are scheduled to begin this week, starting January 15.

For Walmart, the appeal is speed, especially for last-minute or forgotten items. “Drone delivery plays an important role in our ability to deliver what customers want, exactly when they want it,” says Greg Cathey, Walmart’s senior vice president of Digital Fulfillment Transformation. He points to use cases like missing dinner ingredients, phone chargers, and late-night essentials as scenarios where drone delivery shines.

Wing CEO Adam Woodworth frames the expansion as the result of years of technical groundwork. The company’s systems are designed to integrate directly with existing store operations, allowing small, lightweight items — like eggs or over-the-counter medicine — to be delivered in minutes. “Even the smallest package deserves the speed and reliability of a great delivery service,” Woodworth says.

Beyond convenience, the scale of this rollout matters for the broader retail and logistics industry. Moving from dozens of locations to hundreds forces drone delivery to prove its reliability, safety, and economic viability under real-world demand. Walmart and Wing’s growing footprint suggests those hurdles are being cleared faster than many skeptics expected.

For customers, the experience remains simple: eligible shoppers can check availability through Wing’s app or website and join a waitlist if service hasn’t reached their neighborhood yet. Behind the scenes, though, this expansion signals that drone delivery is edging closer to becoming a mainstream part of American retail.

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