Hello!

Kmart is clearly not equipped to cope with the influx of online shoppers so the discount retailer will be closing stores across the country to cope with the online demand.

Earlier this week, we published a story about Kmart disappointing shoppers all over Australia as they failed to deliver Easter eggs and left parents in a flurry of stress as they rushed around trying to find last-minute chocolate bunnies.

Despite Kmart’s fervent guarantees that Easter deliveries would be made before Good Friday, some irate shoppers have reported that they are still waiting for their elusive orders, days after the package was supposed to have arrived.

Not Able To Cope

Other hints that Kmart was just not built on an online shopping foundation was the decision to introduce virtual queues to cope with the hoard of customers flocking onto their website.

“Thanks for your patience! You’re in the queue,” the message on the Kmart website said.

“We’re experiencing a high volume of traffic due to COVID-19, so we’re trialing a queuing system. When it’s your turn, you’ll have as much time as you need (as long as you aren’t inactive for more than 20 minutes).”

To give the company more capacity to fulfill online orders, Kmart will be temporarily closing stores in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Stores Closing

The retail chain is starting with the closure of three stores to allow it to focus on the demand for online deliveries.

“Over the past few weeks, we have seen a huge surge in demand for our online services and we want to continue to support our customers with shopping in a way that’s most convenient for them,” a Kmart spokesperson said.

“We’ve made the decision to temporarily convert a few of our stores into order fulfillment sites to help support the growing demand for our online home delivery services.”

“Our store teams will continue working instore, as part of this fulfillment team; ensuring that our Kmart customers and communities have easy access to the products they need, at the time they need them most. ”

“We will continue to offer free delivery on all online orders over $45 to help support our customers during this time.”

Which Stores Are Closing?

The three stores affected are Brandon Park store in Victoria, Top Ryde in New South Wales and Caboolture in Queensland.

“We recognise that this is a unique time and we are here to support our customers, teams and communities, while we all adjust to this new way of life together,” the spokesperson said.

“Our deepest appreciation and thanks to the local communities for their understanding and support.”

Do you think Kmart closing stores is a good decision? Tell us in the comments below.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • Only the most savy businesses were able to adapt during that time.

    Reply

  • No its a terrible idea. Reduce trading hours but don’t take away the option

    Reply

  • I like Kmart and hope they don’t close anymore shops in the future

    Reply

  • Understanding we are in very different and challenging times, I would assume this is only temporary.

    Reply

  • I did a click and collect from K-mart before Easter and was surprised at how many people were just meandering around the store. I think for the staff’s sake its a good move. They will still need to work to fulfil the orders but not have the contact with the public

    Reply

  • It has good and bad aspects

    Reply

  • It’s good they’re closing during this time as it’ll hopefully keep people home!
    I went to get some groceries last week and there were so many people at the shops, it scared me and I drove back home and opted for click and collect instead.

    Reply

  • It’s good they still have the option of online shopping

    Reply

  • Understandable during the circumstances, every business is having to adapt at the moment.

    Reply

  • Not so bad. I prefer to do online shopping rather than going to store.

    Reply

  • This is a great idea. I’d much prefer to shop online at the moment.

    Reply

  • Wow interesting. That isn’t a bad idea, you get your items people are still employed and you don’t need to come into contact with many people either.

    Reply

  • this is good to know – hopefully the staff will be given jobs to assist with the online stuff rather than adding to the unemployment rate

    Reply

  • Target is also having the same problem as Kmart ie. late orders.

    Reply

  • I think this is a good idea – everything available in Kmart can be bought elsewhere if it is essential!

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join