A $10 purchase that can wait until tomorrow is one kind of retail transaction. A $10 item that keeps a customer from finishing a repair, taking medicine or charging a device is another. Ultrafast delivery is giving retailers a way to find out what the difference is worth.

Lowe’s is working with DoorDash and Alphabet’s Wing on drone delivery in as little as 20 minutes in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area, PYMNTS reported Thursday (Sept. 24). Eligible customers order through the DoorDash app, with an initial assortment that includes hand tools, paint products and household items. Wing drones can carry approximately 2.5 pounds per flight.

Small, inexpensive purchases have traditionally been difficult delivery orders because picking and transportation costs consume a large share of the sale. Urgency can change the customer’s calculation.

A missing drill bit can stop a project. Pain relievers are needed for a raging fever. A charging cable before a trip has more value at 8 a.m. than it does the following afternoon. The merchandise may be inexpensive, but in such situations the cost of waiting is comparatively high.

Drone delivery is testing whether retailers can turn that difference into workable last-mile economics.

Walmart passed 1 million drone deliveries earlier this year, with 40% of its first million occurring during fiscal Q1 2027. Average delivery time was 23 minutes, while its fastest delivery took four minutes and 44 seconds.

Walmart also described a change in usage. Early orders were often driven by novelty, including products such as bananas and snacks.

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