D.L. Stewart web exclusive: Attention Kmart shoppers

In case you missed the story in Monday’s Dayton Daily News, Kmart is re-igniting the blue light gimmick it introduced in 1965, but which has been used only sporadically since then.

Observers see it as a strategic marketing move to re-establish the retailer’s brand as it struggles to compete against the trend toward online buying. But what got my attention was a statement by Kmart’s chief marketing officer, who declared, “It is all about bringing fun back into the shopping experience.”

The reason that jumped out at me, I suppose, is because I never thought of using the words “fun” and “shopping” in the same sentence.

Shopping is necessary, of course, but so is going to the dentist or having your car’s tires rotated, neither of which would be classified as fun by most of us. I do sort if enjoy grocery shopping, but that’s mainly because if I didn’t go to the supermarket there’d never be a pound of salami, a bag of Doritos or a six-pack of beer in our house.

It’s probably a gender thing. Occasionally one of my wife’s female friends will call her to suggest getting together for a trip to the mall, but in my entire life I’ve never had another guy call me and say, “Hey, dude, let’s go shopping.”

Maybe if I shopped more I’d be better at it and enjoy it more. On the very few times I go shopping by myself, whatever I bring home winds up being sent back by my wife. Recently, for instance, I bought a pair of khaki slacks that looked pretty good to me. When I showed them to my wife, she exclaimed: “PLEATS? You bought pants with PLEATS?”

“What’s wrong with pleats?” I asked.

“Oh, Dee Ell.”

For the millions of bargain hunters who will gobble their Thursday turkeys so they can dash off to be first in line for Black Friday, the blue light’s return to Kmart probably is great news. The story cited the example of a Philadelphia Kmart where a 16-piece comforter sets normally priced at $137.99 went for just $19.99 when the blue light started flashing. Which sounds like a terrific bargain, although I can’t be sure because I have no idea what a 16-piece comforter is.

But it’s going to take more than a flashing blue light to make shopping fun for me.

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