There’s been a lot of talk about delivery drones online, but how many folks actually use these devices to have products delivered to their home?
One Walmart customer and TikToker, Sarah (@reallifesarah918), however, showed off what it’s like to actually have something brought to her with a drone, and other users on the platform were full of questions.
Sarah writes in a text overlay of her video as she smiles into the camera: “When you live close to Walmart corporate and you need help finishing dinner.”
The camera then cuts to her showing off a fall-themed home before it transitions to her preparing a “hearty beef stew.” Meat simmers in a pot, and she shows off chopped vegetables before opening a door to her home that leads to her backyard.
Another caption on the screen delineates why she’s venturing outdoors: “I forgot flavor so ordered from drone.”
The TikToker points her camera to the sky, which reveals a flying drone circling above her backyard carrying the ingredient she wants to add to her stew. The drone then drops a package, which gently glides onto her property via a small parachute.
“The missing ingredient just landed in my backyard,” she writes, approaching a box that Walmart promptly delivered. It rests on the grass, with Sarah’s small dog sniffing the object that literally fell from the sky, answering her seasoning prayers. What did she request? Wyler’s beef bouillon, which she sprinkles into her stew for an added extra kick.
Although the bouillon seasoning came in a small jar that seemed inordinately served by the size of the box it came in, a brief glimpse into the interior of the box reveals that it was packed with plenty of stuffing to ensure the contents weren’t damaged after it was airdropped.
“Flavor from the sky,” Sarah writes, dropping a duo of cubes into her stew. She stirs the meal in its pot and rounds out her clip by lauding the convenience of having a product she needed in a jiffy getting delivered to her without having to leave her home.
“Dinner is ready without having to head back out to the store,” she concludes.
Walmart announced near the end of August 2023 that it would be partnering with the drone service Wing Up in order to rapidly deliver select items to customers. In the company’s press release, it delineated the range restriction of the drone service and the special use circumstances in which customers can utilize the unique delivery option.
“Working with Wing directly aligns with our passion for finding innovative and eco-friendly last-mile delivery solutions to get customers the items they want, when they want them,” the press release reads. “With drones that can fly beyond visual line of sight, we’re able to unlock on-demand delivery for customers living within an approximate 6-mile range of the stores that offer the service.”
The Arkansas-based retailer isn’t the only company using drones to deliver goods to its patrons. Amazon went viral years ago after its drone delivery option made the rounds online, and it seems like the massive online marketplace is expanding its mini-airplane offerings in other countries, too.
@reallifesarah918 A little stew on a chilly night makes it feel like pumpkin spice season 🎃🎃 #northwestarkansas #arkansas #walmartarkansas #pumpkinseason #arkansaswalmart #walmartdronedelivery ♬ Monster Mash – Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers
Customers who saw Sarah’s video had several questions about drone delivery.
One person asked if the drones were “gentle with eggs,” to which Sarah responded that she had eggs air-dropped before. “I have gotten eggs before as long as it’s packed with another item they make it,” she said.
Someone else quipped, “This feels very Hunger Games sponsor item drop but in a much cooler way.”
One TikToker said that this option would be dangerous for her shopping addiction: “My impulse shopping would be through the roof!!! That’s so cool!”
Someone else speculated about potential problems that could arise with drone deliveries. “How does it know to drop it in your yard? How do you retrieve it if it lands on the roof,” they asked.
However, Sarah said that this wouldn’t be an issue. “It’s guided by a person using gps with a designated landing area,” the creator wrote. She added in another reply to a commenter that the service is currently only available in Arkansas.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Sarah via TikTok comment and Walmart via email for further information.