Walmart ended 2024 on a robust innovative technology note and is kicking off 2025 just as strong.

In was mid year 2024 when the retail giant announced drone delivery via the Walmart app, InHome Delivery expansion, the development of a GenAI customer assistance tool and deployment of digital shelf labels.

The big drone push

In early 2024 Walmart undertook its largest drone delivery expansion and made drone delivery a reality for up to 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The drone news in June last year announced delivery had arrived on the Walmart app with select customers in Dallas Fort Worth able to order items from drone delivery via the app.

Walmart kicked off trials of drone delivery back in 2021 and growth has been rapid with drones completing over 30,000 deliveries as of June 2024. That figure, according to Walmart, reveals customers are embracing the speedy option.

The app integration began in phases in mid-2024 as more drone delivery sites launched and more drone providers receive additional regulatory approvals to fly more goods across greater distances.

“We are excited about the momentum and positive customer response we’ve experienced around drone delivery in the Dallas-Fort-Worth market. We’ve made 70,000 deliveries to customers since we began offering drone delivery in 2021,” a Walmart spokesperson told RetailCustomerExperience in an email interview.

InHome delivery hits more markets

Along with the drone delivery capability in mid-2024 came expansion of Walmart’s InHome delivery service. By June it had expanded across 50-plus markets nationwide, serving 45 million households including metro areas including Boston, Detroit and Philadelphia.

The service is seen as an “ultimate time saver,” according to a Walmart release which also stated Walmart is the only retailer offering delivery straight into customers’ kitchens or homes.

With the expansion, Walmart has created over 4,000 jobs for dedicated InHome Associate Delivery drivers nationwide since the program’s launch in 2019, according to a press release.

In early 2024, Walmart had revealed it had enhanced the InHome service with Replenishment. Replenishment, powered by AI, utilizes a personalized algorithm to predict customer needs and automatically place items into a cart with a customer’s InHome order to be delivered straight to customers pantries and refrigerators. The algorithm learns customers’ regularly purchased items including frequency and quantity. In April 2024, Replenishment began its initial testing, and customer feedback has been positive.

“We are thrilled about the progress we’ve made with our InHome service, which is now accessible to over 62 million households across more than 80 markets nationwide,” a spokesperson said in an email. “We recently added 150 BrightDrop 400 vans to our last-mile delivery fleet to help support InHome expansion and look forward to continuing to offer customers convenient and easy delivery options that best meet their needs this year.”

Digital shelf labels now in play

Another tech innovation announced mid-year 2024 was Walmart’s testing of digital shelf labels, which allows Walmart to speed up pricing changes in the store.

Digital shelf labels, developed by Vusion Group, allow store associates to update prices at the shelf using a mobile app, reducing the need to walk around the store to change paper tags by hand which gives store associates more time to support customers in the store.

A price change that once took an associate two days to update now takes minutes. It also helps associates which are picking items for online orders given a ‘pick to light’ features that guides the associate. It delivers faster order picking and fulfillment. Walmart’s goal is to expand the technology to 2,300 stores by 2026.

GenAI shopping helper in the works

As of June 2024, Walmart began beta testing a GenAI shopping assistant and is now expanding the test.

The assistant aims to engage with customers in natural conversations to help customers make the best choice for their unique needs.

“It enables customers to discover, evaluate and decide on the best product for their unique needs. Just like a real-life shopping assistant, it will respond to customers in natural, free-flowing conversations, thereby enhancing their shopping experience,” a Walmart spokesperson said in an email.

Prior to the shopping assistant beta launch, Walmart launched a GenAI search experience on Walmart.com and in-app in 2024, aimed at helping customers spend less time scrolling, tapping and searching.

Since that time, Walmart has added more GenAI-powered online shopping features, including GenAI-powered product reviews, product summarizations and product comparisons.

The GenAI shopping assistant, according to Walmart, will continue to evolve to include more advanced features and capabilities.