Results Count ... everything else is conversation.: “Ship My Pants” - A viral flash in the pan, or sign of the times?

Can the "Blue Light" specialist even begin to compete with Amazon?

Kmart is actually the third largest mass merchant retailer in the US. It still has over 1,000 big box style stores, offering everything from groceries to electronics. But, its legacy was greatly tarnished when it filed for bankruptcy, only to be purchased by Sears, another retailer struggling to survive. While the press is full of headlines on Amazon, Walmart and Target, Kmart has literally faded from the US retail scene. That was until one single video went viral. Could "Ship My Pants" be the "Gangnam video of retail? Does it signal Kmart's comeback?

Kmart & Sears - The walking dead or the comeback kids of retail?

Few remember that the first Kmart store appeared in the US before Sam Walton opened his first Walmart. Kmart grew out of a "5 and 10" heritage of Kresge's stores. While Sears was the "higher end" department store for much of the US, Kmart brought large assortments at a discount to the masses. To say that both these retailers have a stodgy, outdated image today would be an understatement! Kmart stores are best known for their "blue light special" promoting discount prices. Sears is where your mom shops for appliances and your dad goes for tools.

If there is one thing that the US loves, it is the comeback story of underdogs. In the world of retail right now, both Kmart and Sears clearly qualify as real underdogs with declining sales in a much more competitive retail environment. But, there are some signs of life at Sears. Sears has a tremendous credit card base and the ability to bring services to your home. Sears is showing signs of life in "mining big data" to reach existing and new customers. What's Kmart's comeback story? … apparently they can "Ship My Pants".

"Ship My Pants" – Sign of the times … Blue Light might not be dead

In case you missed it, Kmart has put out a new video ad with the title "Ship My Pants". In less than a week it has been viewed more than 10 million times. The ad involves some clever "alliteration" that quickly grabs your attention in terms of "they said what?" Rather than try to explain the ad and the humor, it is easier if you view it by clicking on the link below.

Clearly, the clever play on a "crude" saying has resonated with the masses. The amazing part of the video stats is that the video hasn't played on TV yet, only the internet. An ad is effective if it reaches the target audience and communicates a value message. Here's what makes this video interesting in this age of ecommerce:

It reached 10 million viewers in a week surfing online
It is the second most viewed video on the Kmart's YouTube site
It is clever enough to grab your attention with the opening 3 words
Almost none of the video viewers probably know that a Kmart store has the capacity to ship something to your home (I study retail and I wasn't aware)
Kmart offers FREE shipping for "loyalty" members … who even knew that there was a loyalty program at Kmart (I for one certainly did not)

Kudos to Kmart … You had me at "Ship My Pants"

Most TV ads are boring and unmemorable. If this one runs on TV, it certainly will grab attention as it has on the internet. The key here is that the headline grabs your attention everywhere … including all of the spinoff press and blogs like this one. Beyond the crude humor reference, the headline is the perfect tongue in cheek reference to Kmart's image. The ability of an old stodgy Kmart store to ship something to your home is a complete oxymoron … it is almost beyond belief! I literally found myself watching the video and saying: "Really?"

Kmart's "Ship My Pants" video is in fact a litmus test that omni-channel is the new normal, even for Kmart "blue light shoppers". It definitely shows some "attitude".

Kmart has to get the world out to consumers that they can compete with the likes of Amazon, and their biggest competitor, Walmart. If it takes a "crude play on words" so be it. Kmart has to break through the clutter to communicate that they can be relevant. Kudos to Kmart for having some chutzpah, pushing the envelope, and getting a message out virally that they are alive and actually thinking about consumer experience and convenience.

Using Stores as an "App" to compete with Amazon and ecommerce

There's a new strategy emerging with bricks and mortar retailers … use your stores as an "app" to:

Enhance the consumer's experience while in store
Enable a virtual shelf from the web that has a vast assortment which could never be carried in a physical store
Use store traffic to introduce your online site and services
Beat showrooming by offering choice in the store aisle
Potentially offer faster shipping or delivery than Amazon

You will increasingly see Walmart in the news leveraging their strength of store traffic as both an app, and vehicle for consumers to shop omni-channel. Walmart is not trying to beat Amazon at its game, but to compete as an omni-channel retailer in ways that will be difficult for Amazon to replicate. Kmart must also emulate this strategy … or die.

So what about Kmart? The devil of retail is still in the details!

To paraphrase the famous movie character Yoda: "One viral video does not make an omni-channel retail success. The bottom line for Kmart's survival is the holistic consumer experience. Being able to ship my pants to my home is "necessary but not sufficient" to survive in an omni-channel world.

Kmart's success will highly dependent upon consumer experience in store. To ship my pants to my home Kmart must first:

First, create a store that I want to come to
Second, have pants (and other merchandise) that I'm actually interested in buying
Third, be in stock most of the time in store, and almost always online
Fourth, make it possible for me to purchase online and pickup at store
Overall, have friendly staff who genuinely go out of their way to help me buy

The devil and challenge retail is always in the details. Ability to ship to home does not trump or overcome poor stores and consumer experience.

But seriously … "Ship my Pants"? We are definitely in a new retail world, where omni-channel is the norm if the Blue Light specialist can sactually ship my blue jeans home.

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