Wal-Mart Enters The Drone Space

• Shares of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT continue to decline, touching a new 52-week low of $57.97 on Monday.
• Wal-Mart said that it is in investment mode to improve its e-commerce platform.
• The company filed paperwork with the Federal Aviation Administration to test a drone delivery system.

Investors may be losing confidence in Wal-Mart's ability to deliver growth, especially in the e-commerce segment where it lags competitors.

Wal-Mart has already disclosed that it will be spending billions of dollars to improve its e-commerce offering, but few suspected the company would be entering the drone space.

Reuters was first to report that Wal-Mart submitted the necessary paperwork with U.S. regulators to test drones for home delivery, curbside pickup and checking warehouse inventories. In fact, the company has already been testing drones indoors and appears to be ready to test its drones outdoors.

Related Link: We've Reached 'Drone Inflection'

Reuters added that the documents Wal-Mart submitted to the FAA request permission to test its drones for "deliveries to customers at Wallmart facilities, as well as to consumer homes."

Wal-Mart said its initial tests would use drones for taking stock of trailers and other items in the parking lot of a warehouse using electronic tagging. The company also wants to test drones for its grocery pickup service.

The retailer is working with drones manufacturing by China-based SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd.

Commercial drone use remains illegal, though companies can apply with the FAA for an exemption. So far, the FAA has granted more than 2,100 exemptions.

Wal-Mart isn't the first retailer to eye drones as a method of delivery. Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN has already said it would be ready to use drones as a delivery method as soon as federal rules would allow the company to do legally.