Kmart will open its biggest New Zealand store at Westgate in Auckland on 10 September 2026. The 6,700-square-metre store will be the first Kmart in New Zealand to use a new layout called Plan C+. One of the biggest changes will be moving the checkouts from the middle of the shop to the front.
The new store will open at 8am and operate 24 hours a day. More than 200 jobs will be created when it opens, making it the third 24-hour Kmart in New Zealand after stores at Manukau and Sylvia Park. The Westgate site will also have more than 600 car parks and a special area for customers collecting online orders.
Kmart says the new layout will make shopping more convenient and improve the way customers and products move through the store. The company has already introduced the design at some stores in Australia. The changes also aim to give Kmart greater control over goods leaving the store and help reduce shoplifting.
Kmart originally moved its checkouts into the middle of many stores between 2012 and 2015. Retail experts say customers have mixed opinions about self-service checkouts, with some people enjoying the ability to complete their shopping themselves. The new Westgate store will give shoppers a chance to experience Kmart’s latest design in New Zealand.
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