Month-long delays, products out of stock and bad customer service make Kmart customers switch off shopping online

Monday, 29 November 2021

Ever dreamed of shopping at Kmart and having the place to yourself? (Video first published in August 2019)

Kmart shoppers are upset that its website is leaving some of them empty-handed.

But a spokeswoman for the retail giant says it still has good stock availability across New Zealand

Palmerston North woman Virginia Smith ordered four items from Kmart online on October 28.

She received the first two items on November 10, the third item on November 27, but is yet to receive the fourth.

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“I have contacted Kmart but have had no reply,” she said.

Smith works night shifts so doesn’t get the chance to go physically into her local shop.

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She says, for months when she has been trying to order, the online site will advertise products being available for purchase, but when she goes to pay they are out of stock.

“[The] majority of the products are unavailable for purchase saying they are out of stock, before this [I was] wasting a lot of time on the site where there is no possibility of even buying the products I want.

“This is unacceptable.”

Kmart sending multiple packages for one order was continuing to put pressure on the already overwhelmed postal system, she said.

“It’s not fair on customers that will be hoping to receive an order by Christmas, as I very much doubt it will happen,” she said.

Smith isn’t the only customer who feels this way.

A Kmart NZ Facebook post advertising its Black Friday deals on November 25 received more than 200 comments from customers with similar complaints.

“I'm still waiting on items from November 4. Going to avoid Kmart online from now on and just pop into one if I need something specific,” one woman commented.

“Yeah I think I'll give it a miss this time sorry Kmart, I've heard so many horror stories about extremely delayed shipping and people waiting up to a month to only receive a refund for what they ordered, people receiving the wrong parcel,” another woman commented.

“I think before doing big sales like this you need to listen to your customers, an overhaul of your website where you have a system that works efficiently would be something to get on top of. Your website is literally a nightmare to work with and not all of us have the luxury of being close to a store.”

Others mentioned waiting months for orders.

A Kmart spokeswoman said customers should input their postcode into the website before they started shopping.

“This will allow them to see stock availability in their local catchment to avoid disappointment,' she said.

“Kmart’s online orders are packed in stores, and we have teams specifically dedicated to the fulfilment of online orders.However, our teams may also need to serve customers in-store,” she said.

Kmart anticipates some gaps in product due to it being the silly season, but the spokeswoman said it still had strong stock availability across New Zealand.