Sears and Kmart collaborate to expand free store pickup

Sears and Kmart are expanding free store pickup to more than 2,000 locations. The online/in-store collaboration will allow customers to pick up sears.com or kmart.com orders at any Sears or Kmart store and orders will be ready in five minutes or less.



"Sears was the first broadline retailer to provide the convenience of free buy online pickup in store more than 12 years ago, and we continue to introduce integrated offerings to help our members shop on their own terms," said Imran Jooma, EVP, Sears Holdings. "Leveraging the breadth of both Sears and Kmart's online and in-store networks means more convenience for members and opens an even wider brand-name product selection available to fans of both stores."



According to the company, 60% of online sales on Sears and Kmart are multichannel transactions and last quarter, online and multichannel sales increased 26% over the prior year.



Sears and Kmart are rolling out the expanded service ahead of the back-to-school season, when customers may need particular items from Sears or Kmart, but only have one of those physical stores close to their homes. Now consumers can make purchases at kmart.com and pick up their orders at a Sears store. And it works vice versa, of course. Shoppers who order online at sears.com can pick their orders up free at any nearby Kmart store.



"We're excited to build on the success of this popular, convenient Free Store Pickup option with 2,000 Sears and Kmart stores, regardless of whether you order from sears.com or kmart.com, and have it ready for pickup in five minutes or less," said Leena Munjal, SVP, Sears Holdings. "The service also makes exclusive brands, like Sofia by Sofia Vergara and Adam Levine at Kmart, and Bongo and Outdoor Life at Sears, available for free pickup at hundreds of new locations."