Kohl’s has decided to go above and beyond for the consumer
this holiday season, keeping its stores open for more than 170 hours straight. The
retailer initially opened up all its stores on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 7 am, and
will not close them until 6 pm on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24.
In a press release, the company indicated that it extended
store hours specifically for last-minute shoppers, and also highlighted its buy
online/pick up in store service as a complementary offering for the holiday.
The RTP team
shares their thoughts on the business decision by Kohl’s, and whether the move
will pay off both financially and from a branding perspective.
Debbie Hauss,
Editor-In-Chief: Kohl’s is struggling with a lot of the issues department
stores are faced with right now. As a behemoth of a retail space, a department
store must find a way to deliver a unique, personalized customer experience.
This holiday initiative may make Kohl’s stand out a bit among its competition.
It certainly will help to provide some additional working hours for full-time
and seasonal employees. I did stop by a Kohl’s this past weekend and bought a
few gift items. The store was busy in the afternoon, but I wonder how many
people will really be shopping during those extra hours from 11pm through
7am. I think they need to do a bit more to motivate shoppers to go to the store
in the middle of the night. Maybe offer special deals or host a social media
competition/game.
Advertisement
Alicia Fiorletta,
Content Strategist: It seems as though Kohl’s is taking cues from the
variety of studies recently published indicating that consumers are waiting
longer to check off their holiday shopping lists. In fact, a new study from
RetailMeNot revealed that 30% of consumers typically wait until the week of
Christmas to do the majority of their holiday shopping. I hate to say it but
this year, I’m in that bucket, so it’s good to know Kohl’s is offering the
services and store hours people like myself need to accomplish their tasks.
However, I can’t help but wonder how the retailer is staffing up for this
initiative and whether associates are being paid appropriately for their
extended shifts.
Adam Blair, Executive
Editor: At first glance, Kohl’s decision to keep its doors open for 170 straight
hours through Christmas Eve seems like yet another bit of can-you-top-this
holiday madness. Could whatever incremental sales increases the retailer gains
from this marathon really offset the increased labor, security and energy
costs it will incur? But given Kohl’s recent expansion of buy online/pick up
in-store services chainwide, turning its stores into the physical equivalent of
an always-on e-Commerce site during this make-or-break season makes a lot more
sense. And the publicity Kohl’s is getting from its action/stunt doesn’t hurt
either, particularly during a season when every retailer is clamoring loudly
for shoppers’ attention.
Glenn Taylor,
Associate Editor: Last-minute holiday shopping is becoming a trend to watch
out for over these next few days. With Black Friday appearing to mean less in the
eye of the consumer and more shoppers spending later in the season, retailers
now are tasked with making themselves accessible to the consumer at all times.
In that respect, I do understand the move to keep the stores open for a longer
period of time. However, I think the effect could essentially work just as well
if the hours were limited from a 5 am opening to a 12 am closing. Considering they
could likely chop off at least four or five hours of time, the 24/7 schedule further
indicates to me that Kohl’s is going for the PR home run on this one.
