Another Walmart shopper has documented what it’s like to receive an item delivered to them via drone, a service that has been enthralling TikTok, probably due to the fact that it isn’t widely available.
This novel way of receiving an item brought straight to their home straight from the sky was recently uploaded by a TikToker named Brii (@thebriihive), who made a pretty compelling argument for specific usage cases of the straight out of science fiction delivery mechanism.
Brii narrates the process of ordering an item via drone delivery while standing outside of her home, her camera lens pointed directly up in the air. In the distance, a small, hovering drone can be seen coming into view, getting larger and larger as it nears it’s drop point.
“We are outside waiting on our Walmart drone delivery. How freaking extra, and here it comes, my son thought it was a plane it is a rather large drone,” Brii says. “It’s about to stop and start lowering down, the Walmart that we ordered this from was maybe a 10 minute drive and from time of order to time of delivery took maybe 10 to 15 minutes.”
The TikToker says that, while this delivery method is peak human lassitude as work, the efficiency in which the item was delivered is remarkably convenient and ultimately saves her on a valuable commodity: Time.
“Super quick, this is honestly just the epitome of laziness,” she says. “But if you think about it if I drove to Walmart [and] had to drive back that’s 20 minutes, and then the time in the store, so it does save a little bit of time but, you’re not going to get a full grocery delivery with this, it’s just for a couple of items like a drink, a snack, whatever.”
She adds that the drone itself never makes contact with the ground, presumably preempting scenarios where someone might try and steal one of the robots or damage it upon landing. “So here it is lowering down,” she says. “The drone does not land so you can’t just run off with the drone. Now it released the package and it’s about to fly back up and fly on back to the Walmart so it can pick up an order for somebody else and you can just come and pick up your package.”
Brii had favorable things to say about the container in which her item shipped in: “And honestly the packaging’s really neat, very aerodynamic: 10 out of 10. Let’s open it up and see what’s inside, my husband’s a little bit slow with the opening he is not a great hand model if we’re being honest, but let’s see what’s inside here.”
Upon cracking open the blue package, her husband reveals the payload: A package of Chewy Chips Ahoy cookies, as well as an errant water bottle she believes was used as an anchor of sorts as the product wasn’t requested.
“So I think they threw in the water bottle just to balance out the weight; we did not order that,” Brii says. “So a free little Ozarka mini water bottle and then Chewy Chips Ahoy, who gets Chewy Chips Ahoy? My husband does. Apparently, we only go for original, what is wrong with him?”
@thebriihive Santa’s sleigh looks different this year 😜 #dronedelivery #walmartdronedelivery #walmartdrone #walmartdelivery #dronewalmart #deliverydrone ♬ Calm background music with acoustic guitar and saxophone(1288148) – ame
She cheekily added in a caption for the video that “Santa’s sleigh looks different this year,” perhaps as a head nod to the wonderment one would probably feel in receiving an item they requested in a matter of minutes via a flying robot. The video has amassed 1.4 million views as of Sunday afternoon.
Folks who saw Brii’s post had their own commentary on the drone delivery service, noting how Walmart implementing cutting edge technological advancements to make life easier for its customers, while leaving out a widely requested, and widely used, payment option that many other retailers have adopted for years now. “They said we don’t have ApplePay, but we have delivery drones,” wrote one user.
A few folks cracked jokes for the gravity defying grocery drop and others appeared genuinely intrigued in trying out drone delivery for themselves. And while these drop-offs are clearly a very real thing, they are only offered at a few locations in some markets. According to Supermarket News, you can enjoy drone product deliveries in two Texas locations.
However, it appears the retailer has ambitious expansion plans for its drones. Walmart stated in December 2022 press release that it hoped to serve 4 million potential households throughout Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, and Virginia. The Daily Dot has reached out to Walmart for further clarification into the reach of its drone delivery program.
The Daily Dot has also reached out to Brii via TikTok comment for further information.
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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/news/walmart-drone-delivery-2/
