Published
Aug 22, 2017
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Walmart pits new patent against Amazon in drone delivery race

Published
Aug 22, 2017

In an effort to keep up with the growing competition and pressure from Amazon.com, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. applied for a patent that would allow the discount retailer to make deliveries to shoppers’ homes via drones.
 

Walmart hopes to launch a drone-driven flying warehouse concept. - Walmart


It was reported that the “blimp-style” machines would have the capacity to fly anywhere from 500 and 1,000 feet and would be operated by either a human or autonomously. It’s important to note that Amazon obtained a similar patent in April of 2016, so it’s clear that Walmart is making valiant efforts to compete with the mass online retailer. The discount department store has also started offering free two-day shipping, among other dangling carrots — to entice online shoppers.
 
This is not the first time Walmart has traipsed upon Amazon’s intellectual property. Back in October, it filed a patent application that was almost identical to Amazon’s Dash buttons feature that makes it easy for consumers to reorder staples like paper goods while simultaneously gathering specific shopper data.

It was reported that Walmart is jumping on the airborne warehouse concept in an effort to lower the costs associated with fulfilling online orders. The retailer is currently attempting to bypass these costs by encouraging shoppers to pick up their merchandise at the store where they may be tempted to pick up additional merchandise.
 

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