Millions more people may be able to get smaller, lightweight Amazon packages delivered by drones by the end of the year under a plan the company announced yesterday to expand the airborne shipping to suburban areas in nearly 500 US cities.
Customers could receive the drone deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes, Amazon said in a news release. The drones can carry packages up to five pounds (2.26kg).
The plan will intensify the battle between Amazon and Walmart to provide consumers with the fastest delivery times. Both giants rely on a mix of drones and drivers to deliver everything consumers have ordered.
Amazon’s plan would expand its drone delivery operation more than sixfold nationwide into hundreds of new communities, including the Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland and Boise metro areas.
The drones will primarily fly in the suburbs well away from skyscrapers and major airports that could cause problems.
Hundreds of thousands of packages have already been delivered by Amazon drones this year, but even after this expansion drones will still only handle a fraction of the hundreds of millions of package deliveries each year.
In addition to only being able to carry five pounds, the drones Amazon builds face countless challenges from tree cover to landscaping and inflatable pools that can make it hard to find a good drop zone.
There are also regulatory hurdles to overcome in every community where Amazon wants to set up operations. Noise concerns also pose a potential challenge.
“It’s still an experiment. It’s still in test and learn mode,” said Sucharita Kodali, who is a retail analyst with Forrester.
Walmart also uses drones in some locations as part of its delivery service, but the core part of its network relies on drivers to bring orders directly from its stores to customers.
Walmart didn’t immediately respond yesterday to Amazon’s announcement, but the retail giant said early this year that it planned to expand drone delivery service to 150 more stores in partnership with Wing, a division of Alphabet to give it 270 drone delivery locations by 2027.
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