Walmart's Prathibha Rajashekhar Discusses New Partnership With Wing
BENTONVILLE, AR - Walmart has set its focus on innovating the delivery service with the use of drones for a couple of years now, and more updates are solidifying this unique strategy. In its latest play, the retailer teamed up with Wing—an on-demand drone delivery provider powered by Google’s parent company Alphabet—to bring this service to two stores in the Dallas, Texas, area in the coming months.
“Two years ago, we embarked on a journey to make the convenience of drone delivery a reality for our customers. Over that time, we’ve grown to offer it across seven states and 36 stores, completing more than 10,000 safe deliveries,” said Prathibha Rajashekhar, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Automation at Walmart U.S.
This strategic expansion will allow the grocer to reach an additional 60,000 homes with its drone service. The Walmart Supercenter at 8555 Preston Road in Frisco, Texas, will be the first to launch, joining the grocer’s existing network of 11 drone hubs already operating in the Dallas area.
“Working with Wing directly aligns with our passion for finding innovative and eco-friendly, last-mile delivery solutions to get customers the items they want, when they want them,” Rajashekhar continued. “With drones that can fly beyond visual line of sight, we’re able to unlock on-demand delivery for customers living within an approximate six-mile range of the stores that offer the service.”
Once operations begin, customers can download the Wing app from the App Store or Google Play and enter their address to determine if their home is within the Wing drone delivery range, a press release explained.
“This is an exciting next step for our customers, as it provides even more access to a convenient, innovative, and—most importantly—super speedy way to get the items they need,” Rajashekhar concluded. “The outlook is clear for drone delivery: The sky really is the limit.”
Click here to read about the retailer’s newest partnership.
As always, ANUK will continue to keep a close watch on the latest retail strategies, so stick around.
