As noted in this story, Sears is planning to open a warehouse-style location where consumers can pick up orders they placed online. The concept store, which Sears calls MyGofer, will offer consumers the convenience of online ordering combined with the instant gratification of local pick up. The store pickup will include a drive-through option so that consumers can receive their merchandise without having to get out of their car. The concept store will be located in Joliet Illinois and is scheduled to open this summer. While this is a new approach for Sears, the approach has been tried in the past with chains such as Service Merchandise, however the model is much more viable in today's robust online commerce environment. Additionally, the combination of online ordering and in-store pickup is becoming more commonplace among retailers, with stores such as Best Buy offering it. The Sears approach is a lower cost approach and should appeal to consumers watching their spending.

For retailers, one of their largest expenses after inventory and labor is found in operating their physical locations. For Sears, this concept would offer a compelling value proposition to consumers and the store should be able to service a large consumer segment without having the high costs associated with merchandising, store fixtures, managing shrink and to some extent labor costs, as this concept store should require fewer sales associates to operate. The store reportedly will have 80 percent of its space dedicated to warehousing and 20 percent dedicated to showroom. Sears is trying to implement a store which bridges online shopping and physical store fulfillment. Gartner research has shown that many consumers see cross channel consistency as important and they could potentially value this combination of convenient ordering via online shopping and rapid fulfillment via the physical store location. Sears is noncommittal when it comes to plans beyond the concept store, but in this down economy where consumers are looking for convenience and value, this approach may be just the ticket for picky consumers. More importantl,y it may give Sears a cost reduced business model that could help in its efforts to turn things around for the chain.

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