Lowe’s Tests 20-Minute Drone Delivery With DoorDash and Alphabet’s Wing

Lowe’s, the home improvement retailer, is conducting trials of 20-minute drone delivery in Charlotte, North Carolina, as disclosed in a September 24th press release. This innovative delivery method, in partnership with drone delivery providers Wing and DoorDash, aims to swiftly deliver select items, such as hand tools, paint products, household essentials, and other crucial items for home improvement projects, directly to customers.

The delivery service, accessible via the DoorDash app, is initially limited to a curated selection of products. Wing's drones are capable of transporting approximately 2.5 pounds per flight. Lowe’s Chief Information and AI Officer, Seemantini Godbole, emphasized that drone delivery helps the company remove friction from home improvement and streamlines the customer experience, bringing next-generation fulfillment to their doorstep at the most convenient time.

Wing, an Alphabet company, began its drone delivery service in April 2022 from a Walgreens parking lot in Little Elm, Texas. The company initially launched its drone delivery pilot program in Australia in 2022, later expanding to the United States in March 2024, starting with deliveries from a Wendy’s location in Christiansburg, Virginia.

DoorDash and Wing announced in April that they had expanded their drone delivery partnership to metro Atlanta, already providing drone delivery services in parts of Southwest Virginia, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and the Charlotte region. In April, DoorDash’s head of the drone program, Harrison Shih, highlighted that autonomous delivery is integral to making local commerce faster, more delightful, and more sustainable.

In June, Wing announced that its drone delivery collaboration with Walmart would expand to seven additional major metropolitan areas, bringing the total service footprint to nearly 20 U.S. markets.