Wing Drone Delivery and DoorDash have launched the first-ever drone delivery service integrated into U.S. shopping centres, starting with two Brookfield Properties locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area: Hulen Mall in Fort Worth and Stonebriar Centre in Frisco.
The service allows customers to order goods from more than 50 shops using the DoorDash app and have them delivered by drone within 15 minutes. Orders are prepared and packaged at the shopping centre before being picked up by Wing’s drones, which operate at speeds of up to 65 mph and descend deliveries to the ground using a winch system.
The launch builds on Wing’s existing experience in drone delivery, with over 400,000 commercial deliveries completed since 2019.
“When Wing delivery drones operate in these types of dynamic and fast-paced environments, there’s no room for complicated processes to get in the way,” Jesse Suskin, Head of Corporate Affairs at Wing, told Zag Daily.
“That’s why from the beginning we designed our system to be lightweight, with minimal infrastructure and processes that fit into existing workflows. For example, we’ve developed the AutoLoader to make drone delivery as easy as fulfilling any other order without anyone needing to interact directly with the drone,” Suskin added.
DoorDash, which has previously partnered with Wing for drone pilots in Australia and Virginia, described the Dallas-Fort Worth launch as an evolution of its delivery capabilities.
“We’ve learned a lot from our pilots in Australia and Christiansburg, which are going well,” a DoorDash spokesperson told Zag Daily. “We’re excited to apply those learnings as we continue to leverage our marketplace and Wing’s technology to test commercial drone deployment, now in Dallas-Fort Worth. We view this pilot as an exciting opportunity to augment the DoorDash marketplace for consumers and merchants, aligning with our mission to offer customers convenient, affordable, and accessible delivery options that connect them to everything in their neighborhood.”
While this initial rollout focuses on two shopping centres, both companies see potential for broader applications. However, Wing has emphasised that its current priority is ensuring the success of these sites before expanding further.
