• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

That object in the sky might not be a bird or a plane or even Superman.

If it’s over metro Atlanta, it could very well be a Walmart delivery drone, which launched today and will be servicing  six Walmart Supercenter stores.

“The retailer announced in June that it would be expanding its existing drone delivery service, which was previously only available in two cities,” according to USA Today. “Atlanta is the first of five cities to benefit from the expansion. While Walmart first started testing drone delivery in 2020 and rolled it out the year after that, it's far from the only company to do so. Among others, Amazon, Chipotle, and DoorDash are several big-name brands that have utilized drone services for deliveries.”

Walmart advertises drone delivery as a more convenient, faster way to get items right to a customer's door. It is powered through a partnership with Wing, a drone company and subsidiary of Google's parent company, Alphabet.

"Shifting small package deliveries to the sky could help ease road congestion and cut tailpipe emissions — not to mention enabling shoppers to get their purchases delivered quickly, right to their doorstep,” according to Axios. “Walmart and Wing have permission to operate in limited areas, but President Trump has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to fast-track rules so drones can fly beyond visual line of sight, which would unleash drones everywhere.”

The Walmart drones can carry packages up to two and a half pounds and fly within a six-mile radius of a Walmart store.

“The drones sit on individual charging pads until an order comes in through the Wing app, which signals the team to pack up the order, load it onto the drone, at which point it flies to the specified delivery location in under five minutes,” according to ABC News. “In the app, customers can track the package and see a countdown clock for its arrival. The drone will hover about 150 yards above the ground, then slowly lower the package on a tether and safely releases the package once it's touched the ground.”

According to the retailer, the drone deliveries average a five-minute or less flight time. 

“Walmart products eligible for drone delivery include grocery items, last-minute gifts, household goods and over-the-counter medicine,” according to Chain Store Age. “In June 2025, Walmart announced plans to bring drone delivery service to Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa. This would make Walmart the first retailer to scale drone delivery across five states: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas. Drone delivery is scheduled to launch at 100 stores by 2026.”