Sears blends online and off in new shopping experiments

There’s nothing like the convenience of shopping online; then again, there’s also nothing like the instant gratification of bringing home a purchase from the store. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that Sears is dabbling with some experiments to combine the best of both worlds. MyGofer, for example, is a new, warehouse-style store concept that aims to offer both the convenience and selection of an online store and the immediacy and low prices of a discount retailer—a middle ground between Wal-Mart and Amazon, as it’s put by the Chicago Tribune. Shoppers at MyGofer, which will first open this summer in Joliet, Ill., will be able to browse and order products online, much the way they would at any e-retailer. Once their orders are ready, however, consumers can simply drive to the store for curbside pickup, without ever having to go inside. In-store pickup will also be available. To create the new MyGofer store, Sears will close an existing 85,000-square-foot Kmart later this month, according to the Tribune. Roughly 80 percent of the new store will house merchandise, with the remainder serving as a showroom, the paper reported. In what’s reportedly a separate experiment, Sears is also testing a concierge service—somewhat confusingly, also under the MyGofer name—at a Kmart store elsewhere in Illinois. Through MyGofer.com, shoppers can order from more than 50,000 Kmart products online—including groceries and prescriptions—and then pick them up in-store or have them delivered. Information about both efforts is scarce on the Sears site, but job sites—including Sears’ own careers section—do currently feature a mile-long list of MyGofer job opportunities. Still convinced that online is on and offline is off, and never the twain shall meet? Check out our sister site’s OFF=ON briefing for some alternative inspiration. Offline, you’re on again! 😉 Spotted by: Maria Dahl Jørgensen