What: The retailer is investing in DroneUp, a drone services company that it has previously worked with on delivery trials.

Why is it important: In e-commerce quest, last-mile delivery is key and requires new solutions to reduce costs and lead time.

The retailer, whose executives have spent the past year emphasizing its e-commerce ambitions and strategies to shorten delivery times, said it is investing in DroneUp, which offers data collection services using drones.

The company said it would be unrolling its first operations with the company in Arkansas, and indicated plans to scale the operations over time. Drone deliveries, still a while from being scaled to mass use, are being viewed as a way to circumvent traffic, and as part of a shifting retail model.

Walmart Invests in Drone Deliveries in E-commerce Quest