Tops brings Instacart delivery to more stores

Tops Friendly Markets has launched Instacart same-day delivery in nine new upstate New York communities, which the regional grocer called its biggest expansion of the service to date.

Online grocery delivery via Instacart, which Tops began late last year, is now available at stores in Dunkirk, Mayville, Silver Creek, Westfield, Rhinebeck, New Paltz, Greenville, Coxsackie and Tannersville, N.Y. To promote the service, the retailer is offering customers $10 off their first Instacart order of $35 or more through Sept. 1 when they enter the code “TopsSummer” at the TopsMarkets.com/Instacart website.

With the latest rollout, Tops has enabled Instacart delivery at 125 of its 169 supermarkets, or nearly three-quarters of its locations. The grocer’s stores are located in New York, northern Pennsylvania and Vermont.

“This is Tops’ fifth and largest expansion of Instacart services since the beginning of 2018,” Edward Rick, director of consumer marketing and digital at Tops, said in a statement. “We are so excited each and every time we expand the outreach of Instacart to reach more and more of our customers, as we know this added convenience helps give them back time in their already busy schedules.” 

Tops unveiled its partnership with Instacart in November and kicked off same-day delivery in the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y., markets and the Erie, Pa., area heading into the Thanksgiving holiday. The following month, the service was broadened to stores in Jamestown and Elmira, N.Y.

So far this year, Tops has expanded Instacart to Rome, Poughkeepsie, Olean, Cortland, Watertown and Carmel, N.Y., as well as to additional stores in the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse markets.

The Williamsville, N.Y.-based supermarket chain noted that the Instacart partnership extends the reach of its stores, providing access to online grocery shopping and delivery for customers in both urban and rural areas. The retailer said Instacart will deliver to addresses within a 20-minute drive time from its participating stores.

Shoppers using the service can order most products available in stores, including thousands of items in frozen, produce, meat, seafood and prepared foods, Tops said. Delivery can be scheduled for one or two hours, depending on the availability of Instacart personal shoppers. Customers can view delivery times for their area after creating a shopping list and then clicking “checkout” on Instacart’s virtual store. Tops BonusPlus card and GasPoints members also can access savings, rewards and points when using Instacart.