Lowe's Launches Drone Delivery With DoorDash and Alphabet's Wing

Lowe's will deliver more than 100 products by drone in as fast as 20 minutes, making it the first home improvement retailer to enter airborne delivery, according to CNBC, which learned of the program exclusively.

The company is running the pilot with DoorDash and Alphabet's Wing. Customers order through DoorDash, which lists drone delivery as an option for eligible shoppers. The service is already live in North Carolina, with expansion plans pending the pilot's outcome.

The drones carry roughly 2.5 pounds per flight and operate within a 5-mile radius of the Lowe's store in Matthews, North Carolina, the company said.

Seemantini Godbole, chief information and artificial intelligence officer at Lowe's, said shoppers often tell the company they realize halfway through a project that they are missing a crucial item. That mid-job interruption is the friction point drone delivery is designed to remove.

"Drone delivery fits perfectly because this was one of the friction points, like you're doing a project, and you're getting interrupted," Godbole said. "[But] you never left your home, you never left your job site, and then you just continued with the project. That's the whole premise."

A test-and-learn pilot

Lowe's is still testing the service, Godbole said. If the pilot succeeds, the company may expand the drone program beyond the North Carolina store.

"We wanted our tech teams to be positioned. ... We literally are going to the store every day," she said. "We are observing. We are listening to the feedback from our store associates and from DoorDash, and we could make changes as needed and be really agile, and so that's why we started here."

Godbole pushed back on the idea that the program is a novelty play. She described it not as "technology for the sake of tech," but as a response to changing customer needs within Lowe's broader technology strategy.

Crowded skies

Lowe's joins a growing cohort of retailers adding drone delivery to lift sales through speed and convenience. Amazon, Walmart and Uber Eats already use drones for fast delivery.

The distinction for Lowe's, Godbole said, is that it is the first home improvement retailer to offer the service.

The technology faces headwires. Drone delivery has drawn criticism across the country over noise and privacy, particularly in states such as New Jersey. Operating in more crowded airspace also requires regulatory approval.

Godbole said Lowe's is working to ensure its drones meet all standards and is leaning on the expertise of DoorDash and Wing on those fronts.

The bigger tech picture

While the drones mark a milestone in the company's technological advances, Godbole said Lowe's continues to invest in express same-day delivery and in AI tools for internal processes used by store associates.

"When associates and customers are interacting with Lowe's, I really want the technology to disappear, and I want the experience to shine through," Godbole said. "I want them to remember the projects they are doing, the items they are buying, the fulfillment experience they got, and all our technology efforts are geared towards that."

The Matthews pilot will determine whether a 2.5-pound drone run can shorten the path between a stalled project and a finished one — and whether Lowe's scales the model to more stores.