Harps Food Stores launches grocery pickup service

Springdale-based Harps Food Stores Inc. announced Tuesday (Nov. 12) that grocery pickup will be available via Instacart at select locations throughout the four-state area. The two companies have partnered to bring grocery delivery to more than 50 markets during the past year.

In a news release, Harps said it will roll out the pickup service over the coming months. Harps has more than 90 locations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Instacart has partnered with more than 300 national, regional and local retailers, including Albertsons, ALDI, Costco, Kroger, Loblaw, Publix, Sam’s Club, Sprouts, Walmart Canada and Wegmans, among others, to deliver from nearly 25,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America.

Harps customers will be able to order their groceries at shop.harpsfood.com, select a time and store location for pickup, and have their groceries delivered right to their car.

“We are excited to expand into both delivery and click and collect services,” Harps Vice President of Marketing David Ganoung said in a statement. “We strive to continue to meet the needs of our valued customers by offering the convenience of both delivery and click and collect services.”

To take advantage of Harps grocery pickup service, customers can shop online at shop.harpsfood.com or on the Instacart mobile app and select the pickup option. From there, customers select their city and store, and can begin adding Harps products to their Instacart grocery cart. An Instacart shopper will pick and pack the order to be picked up within the customer’s designated time frame—in as fast as one hour, or for convenient scheduling, up to five days in advance. After check out, customers will receive a text message instructing them where to park at the store. When a customer arrives at the store for pickup, a Harps associate will deliver the customer’s order to their car.

“Our expanded partnership with Harps Food gives customers one more time-saving option when shopping for groceries and household essentials,” Andrew Nodes, Vice President of Retail at Instacart, said in a statement. “We know that customers want choice and we’re excited to offer both pickup and delivery options to Harps Food’s loyal customers.”

U.S. online grocery penetration is expected to comprise approximately 15% to 20% of all grocery purchases by 2025, or some $200 billion, according to L.E.K. Consulting. In addition, consumer use of click and collect for grocery shopping has surged from just 4% of adults in 2016 to 15% in 2018.