Sears Blends Online and Off in New Retail Experiments
Feb 16 2009
Retail Wrap >>

There's nothing like the convenience of shopping online; then again, there's also nothing like the instant gratification of bringing home a purchase from the store. Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that Sears is dabbling with some experiments to combine the best of both worlds.

MyGofer is a new, warehouse-style store concept that aims to offer both the convenience and selection of an online store and the immediacy and low prices of a discount retailer—a middle ground between Wal-Mart and Amazon, as it's put by the Chicago Tribune. Shoppers at MyGofer, which will first in the next few months, will be able to browse and order products online, much the way they would at any e-retailer. Once their orders are ready, however, consumers can simply drive to the store for curbside pickup, without ever having to go inside. In-store pickup will also be available. To create the new MyGofer store, Sears is said to be closing an existing 85,000-square-foot Kmart later this month. Roughly 80 percent of the new store will house merchandise, with the remainder serving as a showroom.

In what's reportedly a separate experiment, Sears is also testing a concierge service- also under the MyGofer name—at a Kmart store elsewhere in Illinois. Through MyGofer.com, shoppers can order from more than 50,000 Kmart products online—including groceries and prescriptions—and then pick them up in-store or have them delivered. 

Adapted from Source: http://www.springwise.com/; 5 February 2009