Amazon Eyes Sixfold Expansion of Drone Delivery Service

Amazon hopes to offer drone deliveries in nearly 500 U.S. communities by year-end.

That will mark a sixfold increase for Amazon’s Prime Air service, the company announced Wednesday (Aug. 19), as it targets metro areas such as Chicago, Cleveland and Atlanta.

“Customers already turn to Amazon for fast Same- and Next-Day Delivery, and Prime Air provides them an even speedier option when they need it, with deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes,” David Carbon, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, said in the announcement.

“We’ve already delivered hundreds of thousands of packages to customers by drone this year, and by the end of 2026 we plan to reach customers in nearly 500 cities and towns. We’re pairing the convenience of ultrafast drone delivery with the low prices and selection customers love about Amazon.”

Prime Air drone delivery now serves customers in cities throughout seven states: Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas. Amazon says it plans to launch the service soon in Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Idaho and New York.

According to the announcement, any item weighing 5 pounds or less that can fit in a large shoebox can be delivered by drone, a description that applies to more than 60% of items customers most frequently purchase from Amazon. Orders arrive in as little as 30 minutes, with most orders showing up roughly 60 minutes after checkout, the company added.

The announcement follows Amazon’s recent expansion of its Amazon Now service, which offers deliveries in 30 minutes or less in some cities.

In other Amazon news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this month about the company’s new $3 trillion valuation. While the news was seen as an artificial intelligence and cloud computing milestone, it should be viewed by retail leaders “as a broader signal that investors value the infrastructure surrounding commerce as much as the sale itself,” the report said,

The report also examined Amazon and rival Walmart’s approach to commerce, noting that both retailers have begun developing systems that can anticipate demand, steer product selection, personalize advertising, absorb economic disruption and speed delivery.

“But owning every layer does not guarantee success,” PYMNTS wrote. “AI recommendations may attract regulatory scrutiny. Advertising acquisitions must produce returns. Drone networks must prove economical. Marketplace complexity can make consumer accountability harder rather than easier. The strongest moves Amazon and Walmart are making right now are those that convert complex infrastructure into something the consumer barely notices.”