The REAL reason Kmart checkouts are in the middle of the store
Kmart shoppers were very frustrated when their local store changed the layout and moved the checkouts to the middle of the store.
No reasons were given for the change, which was done back in 2017, but a fellow Facebook group has given a possible reason as to why.
A woman wrote a post in a private Facebook group commiserating about how the registers had moved when another woman chimed in with a possible reason for the change.
“When I was on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, they told me all Kmart stores will be having checkouts in the middle to stop five finger discounts [shoplifting],” the woman said.
“I looked at my friends thinking that clearly isn't going to work.”
When the change was brought about, shoppers made their thoughts clear on the new layout.
“Oh great. Figtree Kmart now has that stupid layout where the checkouts are in the middle of the f***ing store. I don't know where anything is anymore,” one man angrily explained.
“Hey Kmart Australia if you want to stick checkouts in the middle of the store that's fine but don't treat every customer walking out like crims,” another said.
A third added: “Kmart is nowhere near as good as it used to be. Placing the checkouts in the middle of the store was the final straw for me.”
With the checkouts now being in the middle of the store, shoppers must pay for their products before walking to the exit and show their docket to the front door worker. The front door worker also looks in their bags.
A Kmart spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the change was due to aesthetic purposes.
“Self-serve and central checkout registers make shopping more convenient, ensuring store entrances are free of queues and clutter, and allowing customers to enter and exit with ease,” they said.
“Customers will always be welcomed into the store with a friendly store greeter.
“We've noticed the layout is more open now and more spacious without having the registers up at the front part, which can get congested during busy times of the year like Christmas.”