Insiders: Kmart Australia is about to move its checkouts back to the front of the store

Kmart Australia is moving its controversial and widely unpopular central checkouts back to the front of stores, staff insiders claim. 

The checkouts’ shift to the middle was a decision made a decade ago as a way to ‘improve access’ and ‘reduce clutter at the exit’ but make navigation trickier for some.

It is known as the ‘Plan C’ format and has long been at the centre of sales strategy debates; it’s thought to add an average of three extra minutes in store for customers.

‘[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,’ Kmart told FEMAIL at the time.

‘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.’

However, staff at some stores claim they’ve been told of a nationwide change back to entrance/exit checkouts – and others have reported their local stores (East Lakes in Adelaide, Eastland and Footscray in Melbourne and Booragoon Garden City in Perth) have implemented it already.

FEMAIL understands this may be part of a wider digital initiative plan that is in the works for Kmart, with more space needed in the centre of the store for ‘expanded product lines’.

Eastland Kmart is widely known as the ‘concept store’, with many of the company’s new ideas trialled there before anywhere else. 

Kmart Australia is moving its controversial and widely unpopular central checkouts back to the front of stores, staff insiders claim 

This explains why shoppers there have reported the new layout and various other ‘modern’ changes over the past few months.  

Whispers of the change spread like wildfire on social media, with many sharing their own theories as to why Kmart would make such a large change, only to switch back. 

As many believed theories that the central checkouts were designed to ‘drive impulse sales due to getting lost in the store’, they struggled to understand the logic behind the move.

‘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,’ one wrote.

‘They are definitely moving the centre ones and it’s returning back to the front only,’ a staff member 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.’

Another said that while it may seem like a ‘test’ move by the store, a lot of thought would have gone in to making such a significant change. 

‘A change like this would have a lot of data and testing behind it, whatever the issue they’re trying to solve is,’ he wrote.

Eastland Kmart (pictured)is widely known as the ‘concept store’, with many of the company’s new ideas trialled there before anywhere else. Checkouts are at the front at this store 

‘To think this was some cr*p shoot to see what’ll happen is astonishingly misguided.’

Another said it was evident that the move was due to Kmart’s skyrocketing popularity.

‘Kmart is modernising, and as checkouts become more redundant as self serves are preferred, the new format allows for a smarter use of space,’ he said.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Kmart for comment.