Kohl’s Customers Can Shop By Kiosk

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

If shoppers at Kohl’s department store in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, can’t find what they want in terms of size or colour, they don’t go away disappointed: All they do is click on the in-store kiosk, order what they want, and have it shipped to their home for free.

Prototype NCR Kiosk

There’s even a loudspeaker directing them to a kiosk where they can do just that.

It’s a new initiative for Kohl’s, aimed at increasing sales in whichever way the customer wants or needs: in store, via the kiosk, or online.

Kohl’s is seeing big gains in its e-commerce business. In Q1, 2010, Kohl’s online sales jumped by 50%. With the kiosk, and with its online business, the company is finding that it can provide a wider range of choices, without the need to take up space in its stores.

As of Jan. 30, 2010, Kohl’s operated 1,058 in 49 states. Net sales in 2009 were $17,178 million. Internet sales by Kohl’s, which plans to have kiosks in all stores by this fall, were 3% of its total. The company is currently upgrading its website to handle 10 times more traffic than it could last fall, and is opening a distribution center in San Bernadino, Calif., in June to serve its e-commerce business.


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