Harps Food Stores Inc. of Springdale and grocery delivery service Instacart said Tuesday that they are expanding their grocery partnership at Harps Foods stores throughout Harps’ four-state footprint.
The pair first partnered in November 2018 to offer grocery delivery in 50 markets. The companies are now adding grocery pickup to those service areas across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri “over the coming months.”
“We are excited to expand into both delivery and click and collect services,” Harps Vice President of Marketing David Ganoung said in a news release. “We strive to continue to meet the needs of our valued customers by offering the convenience of both delivery and click and collect services.”
In a news release, Harps said customers can order groceries and other products online at shop.harpsfood.com or the Instacart mobile app, select a time and store location for pickup and have their groceries delivered to their car.
Harps said customers can pick up their orders within the customer’s designated time frame — as fast as one hour or scheduled up to five days in advance.
“Our expanded partnership with Harps Food gives customers one more time saving option when shopping for groceries and household essentials,” said Andrew Nodes, vice president of retail at Instacart. “We know that customers want choice and we’re excited to offer both pickup and delivery options to Harps Food’s loyal customers.”
Grocery delivery and curbside pickup have become table stakes for grocery retailers, including Walmart Inc. of Bentonville and e-commerce giant Amazon, which owns upscale grocery chain Whole Foods.
In an interview with Arkansas Business in May, Harps CEO Kim Eskew said the privately held company is, like his larger rivals, still grappling with online shopping and its potential effect on groceries. He said he hasn’t figured out how delivery services can be profitable without companies charging consumers for the costs. Eskew said even Amazon loses money on delivery.
“My personal opinion is that almost no one is making a profit doing delivery,” Eskew said. “You might make money but less [in a high gross margin area]. You can choose to do that, but it costs you to do that. It is not free. There is a real cost to do it and it’s expensive.”
For its grocery delivery service, Harps charges a per-order fee of $3.99 or an annual $99 membership fee. All orders must be $35 or more.
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