Kmart Australia trials 'click and collect' kiosk in store

Kmart Australia is currently trialling a self-serve service kiosk for 'click and collect' that brings orders to the customer via warehouse robotics.

The retailer’s general manager property for Kmart and Target Ben Smith told iTnews Kmart is “focused on constantly finding ways that evolve our customer experience to make shopping easier.”

The Wesfarmers-owned company will trial the new store addition across the next year, according to Smith. 

“We are currently trialling a number of new store elements in our Eastland store [in Melbourne] over the next year, to see how these improve customer experience,” Smith said.

“A big part of that, is looking at how we use technology to deliver not only productivity improvements in our operations, but a better, more seamless customer experience when they come into store.

“Our automated click and collect system is designed to create a simple, quick experience with a self-service kiosk - where customers get their products delivered automatically via warehouse robotics that work behind the scenes."

He said Kmart has also launched a new 'select and collect' service, “which is a [separate] kiosk within the store to shop big and bulky products.”

“These then get collected via our 'direct to boot' service to avoid the inconvenience of moving around large items when shopping, again making shopping a more seamless and convenient experience for our customers.”

According to Smith’s LinkedIn post, the trial recently kicked off in Kmart Eastland, and marked the first time that a "large format store" had trialled a new in-store layout "for many years.”

“The trial store is a test and learn for Kmart to create an even better experience for our customers," Smith wrote.