Lowe’s is launching a drone delivery service in partnership with DoorDash and Alphabet’s Wing to increase same-day delivery speed, making it the first home improvement retailer to use unmanned aerial vehicles for e-commerce fulfillment.
Drone service is available for select products as a pilot program at Lowe’s store in Matthews, North Carolina, the company announced on Thursday. Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) is the latest retailer to piggyback on Wing and DoorDash’s existing drone delivery operations in the Charlotte area.
Lowe’s said customers can receive a curated list of small products — hand tools, paint supplies, tape, batteries, soap — in as fast as 20 minutes. The service is suited for items weighing up to 2.5 pounds that are easily forgotten yet critical to finishing a home improvement task.
Customers access drone delivery through the DoorDash (NASDAQ: DASH) app, where Lowe’s products are displayed, and select the drone delivery option during checkout.
Home Depot recently introduced nationwide, express same-day delivery from stores using DoorDash and its pool of on-demand drivers.
Why It Matters: Retailers understand they need to offer ultra-fast delivery to meet growing customer expectations and be competitive with other stores, as well as marketplaces like Amazon. Other retailers using drone delivery include Amazon and Walmart. Amazon uses its own drone technology, while Walmart partners with Wing.
In July, Wing and Walmart brought drone delivery in the Orlando, Florida, metropolitan area. Initially available at two supercenter locations, the service has expanded to three more locations in Central Florida. Walmart previously launched drone delivery in Houston, Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth. The partners are working to offer drone delivery from more than 270 locations in nearly 20 metro areas, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami and Philadelphia, by 2027.
In Charlotte, DoorDash and drone operator Wing deliver food for Panera and other stores located together at a shopping center.
DoorDash and Wing first launched drone delivery together in Australia in 2022. Since then, the partnership expanded to the U.S., with drone delivery service available to DoorDash customers in parts of Southwest Virginia, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and Charlotte.
Broader expansion of drone delivery requires regulatory approval to balance concerns with noise, privacy and aviation safety in crowded airspace.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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