Tops rolls out Instacart delivery to more stores

Tops Friendly Markets has launched Instacart home delivery at another nine stores in New York.

Williamsville, N.Y.-based Tops said the rollout expands the same-day service to 140 of its 150 supermarkets. New sites offering Instacart online grocery ordering and delivery include stores in Northville, Stanford, Ausable Forks, Chestertown, Hoosick Falls, Watkins Glen, Bath, Boonville and Arcade, N.Y.

“We’re excited to bring even more convenience to the shoppers across our various markets,” Jillian Sirica, manager of digital marketing at Tops, said in a statement. “This expansion marks our 13th and largest expansion since Tops launched Instacart services in 2017.”

Tops noted that Instacart delivery offers customers a contactless option for grocery shopping and has become an “essential service” for millions of U.S. and Canadian consumers since the onset of COVID-19. The Instacart partnership also extends the reach of Tops stores, providing access to online grocery shopping and delivery for customers in urban and rural areas.

Shoppers using the service can order most products available in Tops stores — including thousands of items in fresh produce, meat and seafood as well as frozen and prepared foods — and schedule delivery for one or two hours, depending on the availability of Instacart personal shoppers. Customers can see delivery times for their area after creating a shopping list and then clicking “checkout” on Instacart’s virtual store.

Related:Tops brings Shop + Scan to more stores

Tops first launched same-day Instacart delivery in November 2017 at stores in the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y., and Erie, Pa., markets and then expanded the service to another 44 stores in 2018. Another expansion in early 2019 brought the service to 90% of Tops’ stores. Selected locations also offer Instacart Pickup service, which debuted at several Tops stores in October 2018 and later was rolled out to more sites.

In addition, Tops has worked with Instacart on enabling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) customers to pay for online grocery orders using their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards. Tops announced Instacart SNAP EBT capability for 126 New York stores in mid-July last year and then expanded it to 16 stores in Pennsylvania and Vermont a couple of weeks later.

Also on the digital front, Tops has deployed Tops Shop Scan mobile checkout at another three stores — in Tonawada, Rochester and Greece, N.Y. — and plans to launch the service in North Tonawada on Aug. 10.

That will expand the total number of Shop Scan locations to 28, all in New York. The move follows a five-store rollout of Shop Scan in May. Available via a free download (in iOS and Android versions) the Tops Shop Scan app allows customers to scan products with their smartphones, keep a running tally of their purchases and pay by a simple barcode scan at checkout.

Related:Tops taps Aaron Payne to lead marketing, promotional strategy

Tops’ 150 stores in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, which include five run by franchisees, are part of Northeast Grocery Inc. (NGI), a new company formed late last year through the retailer’s merger with Schenectady, N.Y.-based Price Chopper/Market 32.