Is Kmart fixing a decade-old mistake? Insiders reveal what’s coming
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Retailers are always looking for ways to refine the shopping experience, but not every change lands well with customers.
Some decisions spark debate, reshape store layouts, and even lead to surprising reversals.
One major Australian retailer is now making a significant shift—one that has shoppers and staff alike buzzing with speculation.
Kmart Australia appeared to be reversing a controversial store layout decision, with reports suggesting that checkouts were being relocated from the centre of stores back to the entrance.
The decision to move registers to the middle was introduced a decade ago as part of a strategy to ‘improve access’ and ‘reduce clutter at the exit,’ though many customers found it inconvenient.
Known internally as ‘Plan C,’ the format was widely debated and was believed to add an average of three extra minutes to a customer’s time in-store.
A Kmart spokesperson previously defended the change, stating: ‘[They were moved] to make shopping more convenient, ensuring store entrances are free of queues and clutter, and allowing customers to enter and exit with ease.’
They added: ‘This current layout is more open and more spacious without having the registers up at the front of the store, which can get congested during busy times of the year.’
Despite this, staff at various locations claimed they had been informed of a nationwide shift back to front-of-store checkouts.
Shoppers in Adelaide’s East Lakes, Melbourne’s Eastland and Footscray, and Perth’s Booragoon Garden City reported that their local stores had already implemented the change.
Social media users speculated about the reasoning behind the reversal, with many believing the central registers were initially introduced to increase impulse purchases by making navigation more difficult.
One person claimed: ‘I live in Victoria and can confirm they are changing it back. Many stores by me now have a second set of checkouts by the door, and some have started the process of removing the centre ones.’
A staff member also confirmed the change, writing: ‘They are definitely moving the centre ones and it’s returning back to the front only.’
Another employee added: ‘Not sure when this is taking place or what stores it will happen to but we were told in huddle [a Kmart meeting] that it was going to happen to my store.’
While some saw the move as a mere test, others believed it was based on extensive data and research.
One person argued: ‘A change like this would have a lot of data and testing behind it, whatever the issue they're trying to solve is.’
They also dismissed the idea that it was a hasty decision, adding: ‘To think this was some c*** shoot to see what’ll happen is astonishingly misguided.’
Others suggested that the shift was linked to Kmart’s increasing popularity and evolving store strategies.
‘Kmart is modernising, and as checkouts become more redundant as self-serves are preferred, the new format allows for a smarter use of space,’ one person noted.
Reports indicated that the change may be part of a broader digital initiative requiring more space in the centre of stores for expanded product lines.
Eastland Kmart, known as the company’s ‘concept store,’ was frequently used to trial new ideas before wider rollouts.
Shoppers at this location had already noticed the new checkout layout alongside other modern updates in recent months.
Kmart had yet to provide an official statement on the reported changes.
In a previous story, we explored another surprising supermarket policy that caught shoppers off guard.
Many were unaware of the rule until they experienced it firsthand.
Read on to see how this unexpected policy compares.
With Kmart rethinking its store layout once again, do you prefer checkouts at the entrance or in the centre? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Some decisions spark debate, reshape store layouts, and even lead to surprising reversals.
One major Australian retailer is now making a significant shift—one that has shoppers and staff alike buzzing with speculation.
Kmart Australia appeared to be reversing a controversial store layout decision, with reports suggesting that checkouts were being relocated from the centre of stores back to the entrance.
The decision to move registers to the middle was introduced a decade ago as part of a strategy to ‘improve access’ and ‘reduce clutter at the exit,’ though many customers found it inconvenient.
Known internally as ‘Plan C,’ the format was widely debated and was believed to add an average of three extra minutes to a customer’s time in-store.
Kmart reverses controversial checkout layout decision. Image source: Instagram/comacretailpropertygroup
A Kmart spokesperson previously defended the change, stating: ‘[They were moved] to make shopping more convenient, ensuring store entrances are free of queues and clutter, and allowing customers to enter and exit with ease.’
They added: ‘This current layout is more open and more spacious without having the registers up at the front of the store, which can get congested during busy times of the year.’
Despite this, staff at various locations claimed they had been informed of a nationwide shift back to front-of-store checkouts.
Shoppers in Adelaide’s East Lakes, Melbourne’s Eastland and Footscray, and Perth’s Booragoon Garden City reported that their local stores had already implemented the change.
Social media users speculated about the reasoning behind the reversal, with many believing the central registers were initially introduced to increase impulse purchases by making navigation more difficult.
One person claimed: ‘I live in Victoria and can confirm they are changing it back. Many stores by me now have a second set of checkouts by the door, and some have started the process of removing the centre ones.’
A staff member also confirmed the change, writing: ‘They are definitely moving the centre ones and it’s returning back to the front only.’
Another employee added: ‘Not sure when this is taking place or what stores it will happen to but we were told in huddle [a Kmart meeting] that it was going to happen to my store.’
While some saw the move as a mere test, others believed it was based on extensive data and research.
One person argued: ‘A change like this would have a lot of data and testing behind it, whatever the issue they're trying to solve is.’
They also dismissed the idea that it was a hasty decision, adding: ‘To think this was some c*** shoot to see what’ll happen is astonishingly misguided.’
Others suggested that the shift was linked to Kmart’s increasing popularity and evolving store strategies.
‘Kmart is modernising, and as checkouts become more redundant as self-serves are preferred, the new format allows for a smarter use of space,’ one person noted.
Reports indicated that the change may be part of a broader digital initiative requiring more space in the centre of stores for expanded product lines.
Eastland Kmart, known as the company’s ‘concept store,’ was frequently used to trial new ideas before wider rollouts.
Shoppers at this location had already noticed the new checkout layout alongside other modern updates in recent months.
Kmart had yet to provide an official statement on the reported changes.
In a previous story, we explored another surprising supermarket policy that caught shoppers off guard.
Many were unaware of the rule until they experienced it firsthand.
Read on to see how this unexpected policy compares.
With Kmart rethinking its store layout once again, do you prefer checkouts at the entrance or in the centre? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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