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Tops ramps up grocery pickup

Expansion builds on rollout of Instacart home delivery

Russell Redman

May 30, 2019

2 Min Read
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Tops Friendly Markets plans a major expansion of online grocery pickup that will bring the service to more than a quarter of its stores.

Williamsville, N.Y.-based Tops said yesterday that it has launched Tops Grocery Pick Up, powered by Instacart, at 16 more stores in western New York. The regional grocer introduced click-and-collect last October at three stores — in Hamburg, Williamsville and Tonawanda, N.Y. — and said the strong response from customers led to a broader rollout of the service.

The new curbside pickup sites are at Tops supermarkets in Derby, Hamburg, Orchard Park, East Aurora, Buffalo (four stores), Amherst (two stores), Cheektowaga, Niagara Falls, Depew (two stores), Lockport and Batavia.

“This expansion is significant for Tops as it assists shoppers from Buffalo to Batavia, Hamburg to Niagara Falls, making their shopping experience that much easier,” Edward Rick, director of consumer marketing and digital at Tops, said in a statement.

In the coming months, Tops expects to offer pickup at another 22 stores, including in the Rochester and Syracuse markets, which the company said would make the service available at 41 of its 159 stores.

To use the click-and-collect service, Tops customers order their groceries at the chain’s branded Instacart website (TopsMarkets.com/Instacart), select a pickup time at a Tops store offering the service, and check out online. Instacart personal shoppers then pick and bag their order and prepare it for pickup. Once their order is ready, customers will receive a text with pickup instructions, which include a designated Tops Grocery Pick Up parking spot. When arriving at the store, customers text “here” to inform Tops, and a store associate brings the groceries to their vehicle.

Related:Tops store-refresh program gets under way

The pickup service expansion is part of a $40 million store upgrade plan that Tops announced in mid-April. The company said it expected to have click-and-collect available at about 20 stores by the end of May.

At the same time, Tops has brought Instacart same-day delivery to most of its stores. Home delivery, in as soon as an hour, is now available at around 130 stores, reaching more than 90% of the retailer’s customer base. Tops announced its partnership with Instacart in November 2017, first launching service in the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse markets.

To support the rollout of Tops Grocery Pick Up, the chain is offering customers $10 off their first order of $35 or more by using the promo code “TopsPickUp.”

Tops’ core market is upstate New York, but the chain also operates 17 stores in Pennsylvania and three stores in Vermont. The company also has five franchised locations.

Related:Tops expands Instacart delivery

Read more about:

Tops Friendly Markets

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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