Drones can do a lot and their potential is just being revealed. Drones, like the one that we have at Nicely Done Sites have, are good for photography or for just passing time but ever more increasingly drones are doing more and more meaningful work. Walmart is about to take this to the next level.
Drones today can deliver products, whether it is something just ordered on Amazon or vital blood or medicines in the remotest regions of the world. While what Walmart plans to do is not so vital it could fundamentally change the way that people shop.
High tech shopping
Walmart plans to unveil a series of drones that can be summoned by a mobile app to assist customers find the products that they are looking for or to price check items. No more will shoppers wander aimlessly through the store looking for a certain product (and of course the staff is never around to point you in the right direction when you actually need help). Now the drone will lead you right to where the product is making for a much more pleasant shopping experience, at least for the people who just want to get what they came for and leave.
Another piece of technology that Walmart has applied for a patent for is a smart shopping cart. A sensing device will be used to communicate with a mobile app that will help the customer navigate to where their desired item it. While not quite as cool as a drone it certainly is a step forward.
Saving brick-and-mortar stores
There is always the possibility that none of this may come to fruition but as brick-and-mortar stores try to compete with online retailers like Amazon. One has to figure that making the items that people are looking for easier to find is only going to help but will it be enough to overcome a giant like Amazon. Walmart’s e-commerce sales and online sales reportedly grew significantly in 2017 so they also do recognize where the future of shopping is heading.
Walmart has the capital to invest in a project like this and in all probability they are not going away anytime soon. Some people do like being able to get an item that day rather than waiting for it to be shipped to them (though drones can help with that too). You know you are going in to at least try it out, whenever it is rolled out, and that is exactly what Walmart wants.