Lowe’s starts drone-delivery pilot in North Carolina

Lowe’s has launched a drone-delivery pilot at its Matthews, North Carolina, store, working with Wing and DoorDash to deliver selected lightweight products to eligible customers. The company says orders can arrive in as little as 20 minutes, though the pilot is in its early stages and any expansion will depend on its performance. Customers who qualify can place orders through a dedicated Lowe’s storefront in the DoorDash app. The initial selection includes more than 100 products, according to company representatives, such as hand tools, paint supplies, tape, batteries and cleaning products. The drones can carry items weighing about 2.5 pounds, and reports on the pilot describe a service area within five miles of the store. Full eligibility and ordering restrictions were not detailed in the information provided. The service is intended to add another option to Lowe’s existing fulfillment methods, which include store pickup, curbside pickup and same-day delivery. Seemantini Godbole, Lowe’s chief information and AI officer, has described the test as a response to customers discovering they are missing a needed item while working on a home project.