Instacart to provide grocery delivery for Harps Foods in Northwest Arkansas, Fort Smith area

by Kim Souza ([email protected]) 2,258 views 

Consumers in Northwest Arkansas, the Fort Smith metro, and parts of Oklahoma and Missouri have another option for grocery delivery. Springdale-based Harps Foods is working with Instacart to offer grocery delivery to select areas.

Harps began working with Instacart in late 2018 and the Northwest Arkansas region was activated beginning Tuesday (March 5) for consumers from Farmington to Bella Vista and other areas in the region.

“Instacart is proud to partner with Harps to make grocery shopping effortless for customers and families across the United States,” said Sarah Mastrorocco, vice president of business development for Instacart. “In partnership with Harps, Instacart is again expanding its North American footprint, which today reaches more than 70% of U.S. households, to deliver customers the groceries they want from the local retailers like Harps that have been a part of their families for generations.”

Harps customers can activate an account at this link and shop for groceries online. Instacart picks the items from a Harps store and delivers them to the customer’s home or office within a specified time frame chosen by the consumer.

“We are a customer-focused company and are always looking for new ways to make shopping more convenient,” said David Ganoung, vice president of marketing at Harps. “The option of home delivery complements our dedication to providing our customers with convenience and quality, making it even easier to shop with us. We’re very excited to add additional stores and the Northwest Arkansas area to our home grocery delivery service list.”

Harps said customers using the service can choose from an assortment of groceries, household items, health & beauty, pets and consumables such as baby items like diapers and formula. Items not permitted include tobacco, lottery tickets and gift cards. Customers who use the Instacart service can also download the mobile app for added convenience. The scheduled deliveries can be as fast as 1 or 2 hours. Orders can be made up to five days in advance of the delivery.

Instacart operates between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily but will be restricted to Harps store hours. On holidays, Instacart deliveries are subject to special store hours. The company said customers can view the available delivery times for their area at checkout as well as from the shopping cart on the Instacart.com site.

The delivery charge starts at $3.99 for a two-hour or scheduled delivery with a purchase or $35 or more, and there is a $10 minimum order on all orders. Customers also have the option to purchase an express membership for $99 a year, which provides free delivery for all orders over $35.

Similar to Walmart’s grocery delivery option in Northwest Arkansas, Instacart can substitute for items ordered that are out of stock when the order is filled. Instacart said replacement items will be comparable to the original based on brand, flavor, size, healthy option and price. Customers are notified of the substitution before checking out. Walmart began delivering groceries in Northwest Arkansas late last year working with various third-party delivery services and having orders picked by Walmart personal shoppers.

Instacart works with numerous other retailers including Costco, Kroger, Publix and Aldi.