Walmart and Wing brought 30-minute drone delivery to Metro Atlanta this month, marking the first step in an aggressive expansion plan that will add five new major metros and 100 stores by 2026.
Six Walmart stores across the Atlanta suburbs — in Woodstock, Conyers, Dallas, Hiram, McDonough and Loganville — now offer drone delivery of groceries, household items and over-the-counter medications through the Wing app. If you live in one of those areas, you can check if your home is eligible on Wing’s website.
Here’s a map of the Atlanta Walmart stores currently servicing drone deliveries:
Much like the service Wing and Walmart run together in Dallas and Fort Worth, the Atlanta drone delivery service sends packages cruising over the skies at 60 mph and 150 feet altitude. The flight time for most deliveries is just about five minutes from takeoff, with the drone lowering items to the ground without requiring customer interaction. It’s less than 30 minutes once you account for the time needed to assemble the items from Walmart stores and put them on the drone.
That 30-minute delivery window competes directly with gig economy services like Instacart and DoorDash, though drone delivery could eliminate labor costs once systems scale. It could also take more cars and delivery scooters off the road.
Here’s a look at their similar service in Fort Worth, which I tested out for myself (along with a behind-the-scenes tour of the launch site:
Why Atlanta makes sense for drone delivery
Atlanta’s dense suburban sprawl and Walmart’s store footprint create what some might say are ideal conditions for drone delivery. It’s a layout not too much unlike the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, where Wing and Walmart complete thousands of weekly deliveries. According to Wing, over 75% of DFW customers have ordered multiple times in the past year, suggesting the service addresses a genuine consumer need beyond novelty appeal. Atlanta likely could see the same results.
The bigger picture: FAA Part 108 and commercial viability
This expansion comes as the drone delivery industry navigates ongoing regulatory challenges. The FAA’s proposed Part 108 regulations, which would formalize commercial drone delivery operations, remain under development with no clear timeline for finalization.
Wing operates under existing Part 135 air carrier certification, the same regulations governing small aircraft and air taxi services. This certification allows for BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) operations but requires extensive safety documentation and operational procedures.
Though Wing says it intends to add 100 stores across five metros by 2026, that’s ambitious given the current regulatory model. Each new market requires FAA approval, local regulatory compliance and community acceptance — factors that have slowed drone delivery expansion industry-wide.
Zipline’s competing drone delivery service also partners with Walmart in select markets, as do a few other smaller drone delivery players. The race to establish dominant market position in the field of consumer drone deliveries is accelerating, but all players face the same fundamental challenge: proving drone delivery can achieve profitable unit economics at scale.
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