Walmart has launched a new pilot program in partnership with Flytrex, an Israeli drone delivery company, to deliver groceries and household items to customers in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

In April 2020, Walmart and Flytrex launched a similar program in Grand Forks, North Dakota, although it was not an official partnership between the parties at the time. The main purpose of the April trial was to facilitate social distancing for Walmart customers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Walmart has previously experimented with autonomous delivery vehicles (ADVs) in partnerships with companies including Gatik (in July 2019) and Nuro (in December 2019).

Flytrex was selected to participate in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s Drone Pilot Program, partnering with North Carolina’s Department of Transportation in May 2018. In August 2019, the company received FAA approval to conduct drone deliveries in North Carolina. Flytrax has been running trial drone delivery operations in Reykjavik, Iceland  in partnership with local e-commerce operator Aha since August 2017.