West Memphis Holds Ribbon Cutting for Walmart Drone Delivery, but No Flights Yet
The city of West Memphis, Arkansas, held a ceremony announcing Walmart and Wing drone delivery, yet neither company's website lists the service. The city's own post described the launch in the future tense.
A ribbon-cutting took place on November 2 in West Memphis, Arkansas, to mark the arrival of drone delivery from Walmart, the US retail chain, and Wing, the drone delivery company owned by Alphabet. The city described it as the Mid-South's first drone delivery service. However, the service was not yet available that day, and neither company issued an announcement.
What the city said
Mayor Marco McLendon, city officials and community leaders attended. The city said standard delivery fees apply per order, while Walmart+ members get free drone delivery on eligible orders for a limited time. The city's social media post said Walmart orders would "soon" be delivered by drone. It named no store, launch date, delivery radius or number of aircraft.
TV station WREG checked the service: at about 3 p.m. the same day, drone delivery was not available at West Memphis addresses.
What Wing's data shows
Wing's website, checked on November 6, lists 19 Walmart metro areas. Five are marked "Now serving": Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Orlando. Memphis, the metro area West Memphis belongs to, is among 14 marked "Coming soon." No Arkansas location is listed.
In June, Walmart and Wing had named Memphis among seven new metros, promising delivery in as little as 30 minutes, up to five pounds per order, and a $19.99 fee for customers without Walmart+. In August, Walmart asked Memphis and Shelby County planners for fenced drone areas at two Tennessee stores. No approval or launch has been reported.
The city's post also cited Google's $4 billion investment, a data center on which construction began in West Memphis in October 2025, as part of a run of technology wins.
What comes next
DroneXL's author argues that the eligibility check on Wing's website, not the ceremony, will mark the actual launch. He suggests the store count on Walmart's third-quarter earnings call this month may show the pace of the rollout.
