Drone Delivery
technology Also: delivery drones, last-mile drone delivery, UAV delivery.
Small autonomous aircraft that fly a parcel from a store, warehouse or hub to a home, usually lowering it on a tether rather than landing.
What it is
The case rests on cost per drop: no driver, no road traffic, and a few minutes of flight instead of a van round.
Where it sits
Where it stands (Nov 2026)
- Retail networks, not pilots. Walmart signed a multi-year deal in November 2026 to add 300 Zipline drone sites in the US. Its drone programme has made more than 2 million deliveries since 2021 (cumulative; no annual rate published). Zipline reports 150 million autonomous miles without a major safety incident; the drone hovers about 100 metres up and lowers the order in 10 to 30 minutes from ordering. Company release. ref
- Platform entrants. DoorDash has shown its own delivery drone (October 2026). ref
What decides the pace
Regulators allowing flights beyond the pilot’s line of sight at scale, noise and community acceptance, payload and weather limits, and whether drops per drone per day reach the level where the cost beats a van.
What would change the view
- What is the annual delivery rate, as opposed to the cumulative count?
- Do retailers own the network or rent it from Zipline-style operators?
- Which comes first at scale outside the US: medical supply or retail?