Kmart Has Rolled Out a New Booking System After 10,000 Melburnians Visited in One Night
While it's not compulsory, you can now book a timeslot to go shopping.
When Melbourne's latest round of restrictions eased this week, allowing hospitality and retail to reopen, much of the city was focused on finally being able to 'get on the beers'. But it seems a stack of locals had another important task at the top of their post-lockdown to-do lists: a midnight shopping session at Kmart. In fact, both 'get on the beers' and 'Kmart' were trending on Twitter just moments after the announcement.
The resulting crowds that swarmed the retail giant's late-night stores for their 11.59pm opening on Tuesday night were so hectic that Kmart has gone and launched a new booking system. Yep — you can now secure a timeslot to go shopping.
Scores of eager punters hit the town late Tuesday night keen to make the most of freshly lifted restrictions by heading for a feed, a drink, or a shop. And Kmart proved an especially popular choice, with Kmart Group Managing Director Ian Bailey telling 3AW that a whopping 10,000 people passed through the chain's five local late-night stores before 6am. Of course, not everyone was enamoured by the shopping frenzy, with Kmart Australia's Facebook page copping plenty of less-than-impressed responses. Some comments labelled the company 'socially irresponsible' for allowing such huge crowds to gather, while others questioned why so many people had been so desperate to go shopping at the crack of midnight.
Now, Kmart's hoping to manage the masses of shopping fiends with a new booking system via SocialQ. Rolling out across the group's busiest metropolitan Melbourne stores, the new setup is designed to save customers from lengthy queues, while limiting the number of people in store at any one time. Shoppers can now head to the website, click on their chosen store and book a preferred timeslot to visit. A booking confirmation is sent via SMS, which you'll then have to flash when you arrive in-store.
While it's not compulsory, Kmart is recommending people book ahead in order to avoid wait times, improve social distancing and ensure a speedy shopping experience.
Kmart's new booking system is now operating for select metro Melbourne stores. Head here to see the list of participating outlets and book a timeslot.
