Flying off the Shelves

Forget delivery by Domino's. Your dinner could soon be delivered by drone.

Retail giant Wal-Mart announced last month that it has applied to the Federal Aviation Administration to use drones in delivering some of its products.

Including edibles, it turns out. Food items accounted for more than half of Wal-Mart's annual sales of $482.2 billion for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, 2015, according to the company.

Wal-Mart expects a decline in earnings next year as it copes with higher wages and more price competition, and deals with boosting online sales. Its latest salvo to maintain dominance is through drones - small, unmanned aircraft that may soon drop off your shirt or packaged goods at your doorstop.

But the nation's largest retailer by revenue said it also wants to test drones for grocery pickup service. It recently expanded online food orders, which consumers pick up, to 23 markets, with plans to add 20 more markets next year.

The test flights would confirm whether a drone could deliver a package to a customer's front door, reads the FAA application submitted on Oct. 26.

The company is asking for an exemption from current drone regulations that limit their commercial use to indoors and to begin testing them outdoors. It also wants to use drones as surveillance cameras in warehouses, buildings, and distribution centers to monitor inventory.

Wal-Mart wants to test aerial home delivery in small residential neighborhoods.

There are more than 4,500 Wal-Mart stores nationwide, with 196 in Pennsylvania and New Jersey combined.

"We've been testing aerial drones indoors for several months and made the decision to move forward on additional testing," Brian Nick, senior director of communications, said in a statement.

"A unique aspect to our company," he said, "is that there is a Wal-Mart within five miles of 70 percent of the U.S. population, which creates some interesting possibilities for serving customers with drones."

With the growing clout of online shopping, and with speed becoming even more of a factor in shoppers' buying decisions, drones could be the ultimate solution, say retail analysts. Online behemoth Amazon.com and Google have already started testing drones.

In a 2015 Future of Retail report by Walker Sands Communications, a digital marketing firm for technology firms, 80 percent of customers surveyed said they would more likely shop with a retailer that offered drone delivery within an hour of their home.

Sixty-six percent said they expected to get their first drone-delivered package within the next five years.

"Drones will probably provide the fastest way for retailers to deliver e-commerce orders," said Dave Parro, a Walker Sands director. "But the timing depends largely on how fast the FAA moves. It might be a year or two before they deliver their first drone package.

"Consumers are most concerned about safety, privacy, and theft, outside of cost," Parro added. "A worst-case scenario would be a drone crash that causes a serious injury or death. Or a rash of thefts, either from front porches or even people shooting drones out of the sky to steal packages."

My big question: Will my bagels and fruit arrive fresh by drone?

Supermarket competitors aren't taking the drone threat lightly. They have been expanding online grocery services.

Giant Food Stores touts its Peapod service for online food orders. Items ordered on peapod.com with a laptop, tablet, or smartphone with Peapod's mobile app can be delivered to customers' homes or workplaces.

The ShopRite mobile app and From Home service allow customers to place orders electronically. The items ordered are chosen in store by trained ShopRite "shoppers." Customers can have orders delivered to their home, or pick them up at the local store.

Wegmans, which opened its 88th store, in Glen Mills, Pa. last weekend, said it was sticking to using people in service delivery.

"What distinguishes Wegmans is our level of customer service," spokeswoman Jo Natale said. "We have no interest in drones."

She said the Wegmans in Bridgewater, N.J., just applied to offer online curbside pickup at its store. That would allow customers to order online and have the merchandise ready for pickup curbside without having to get out of their vehicle.

"We're currently testing it and how long it takes to roll out," Natale said. "We know that customers here long for that convenience. We want to make it as convenient as possible to provide what they want today."

On delivery by drones, "Nothing is impossible," said Natale. "Who knows what the fate of drones are in the future? But it's not something that we're thinking about using."

But Bob Cassel, 77, a retiree from Trevose, is all for it.

He lives a mile from the Wal-Mart by Neshaminy Mall and drives there every other day. He said drone delivery would save him time and gas.

"If I can call up a [Wal-Mart] store and say, 'I need such and such,' and have them drop it off, that sounds good," Cassel said while food shopping for himself and his pet guinea pigs last Sunday.

"I can keep watching TV, and look out the window and wait for it to drop."

sparmley@phillynews.com

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