Who needs Santa when a drone can do all your mall shopping for you? Two Dallas shopping malls now offer drone delivery as a service.
The news comes today out of Wing, which will run drone deliveries out of two Dallas shopping malls in collaboration with DoorDash and real estate investment company Brookfield Properties (which owns the two Texas malls). And the news comes just in time for the busy, last-minute holiday shopping season, as the first deliveries are taking off today.
The service for now is available at two Dallas-area malls: Stonebriar Centre in Frisco and Hulen Mall in Fort Worth. Though Wing has already been conducting drone deliveries at malls in Australia, today’s news markets the first-of-its-kind drone delivery service at American shopping malls.
Customers shopping at either of the two malls can now receive goods from more than 50 merchants. And Wing promises orders could arrive in as little as 15 minutes. Here’s how it works:
- Customers place an order through the DoorDash app.
- Eligible customers will see the option to have their items delivered by a Wing drone.
- DoorDash employees will gather the items ordered from various mall stores, and then bring them to the drones, where items are loaded to take flight.
- The Drones fly at speeds of about 65 mph and a height of approximately 150 feet to customer homes.
- Once at the delivery address, Wing drones don’t actually land. They simply lower deliveries to the ground at their destination via a tether.
The launch marks another milestone for Wing, which has already completed over 400,000 commercial deliveries worldwide, including pilot programs in Melbourne, Australia, and Christiansburg, Virginia. This new collaboration represents a big step in revitalizing what has sometimes been the struggling mall industry (given the proliferation of online shopping). And with drones, Wing can use otherwise underutilized spaces like rooftops and parking lots (that’s where it’s drones take off) to improve the shopping experience.
Dallas-Fort Worth: a growing hub for drone innovation
The news of drone delivery from Dallas shopping malls is hardly the first time Dallas-Fort Worth has made headlines as a hub for drone technology. In fact, earlier this month, news broke that Texas State Highway 130 (SH130) would turn into a “superhighway for drones.” that basically means the area over that highway is now considered an Intelligent Infrastructure Economic Zone (IIEZ), with drone “zones” set up along the highway, enabling continuous drone operations across a 30-square-mile area per zone for tasks encompassing inspections, security and public safety.
And of course, Wing (as well as other drone delivery companies like Flytrex) have seen strong success in other types of drone deliveries. Wing already has an extensive partnership with Walmart to conduct drone deliveries out of a large handful of Walmart stores in and around Dallas. I even tried a Walmart drone delivery myself (and can confirm it works).
You can watch my own experiencing ordering Powerade from a Walmart in Frisco (and getting it delivered via drone) here:
Companies like Wing have set up operations in Texas, drawn to the state for factors including its favorable regulatory environment, mild climate, flat landscape and tech-savvy population.
In fact, drones are so popular in Texas, that many have riffed on the term ‘Lone Star State,’ now calling it the “Drone Star State.”
What’s next for drone delivery at shopping malls?
Drone delivery is reshaping the retail and logistics sectors, and partnerships like this one between Wing, DoorDash, and Brookfield Properties highlight how drones can integrate with existing infrastructure to meet evolving consumer demands.
This integration of drone technology into malls’ operations could set a precedent for shopping centers worldwide, enabling businesses to expand their reach and provide a futuristic customer experience. As drone delivery becomes more commonplace, it’s likely that other malls and retailers will adopt similar strategies to remain competitive.
For Dallas-Fort Worth residents eager to try the new service, eligibility for drone delivery can be checked at wing.com/doordash. Not eligible? A spokesperson for Wing said the company intends to add more sites in 2025.
But for now — as the holiday season kicks into gear — DFW’s skies may soon be buzzing with the sound of drones, delivering everything from last-minute gifts to your favorite meals.
The post Dallas shopping malls to get drone delivery from Wing appeared first on The Drone Girl.
