Massey University marketing professor Bodo Lang told 1News store layout was one of the most powerful tools retailers had to influence consumer behaviour.<\/p>\n
“There’s a really strong body of literature that shows that how you design a store, what the store layout is, determines where shoppers travel and which products they’re exposed to, which in turn drives what they’re likely to buy,” he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Artist's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/artists-impressions-of-westgate-kmart-UHIIZG4EWBH63HSOIYS4ZSBXYE.jpg\")
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Artist’s impressions of Westgate Kmart. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
“To put it simply, the longer you can keep a customer in store, and the more of the store that customer sees, the more likely that person is to spend more money in the store.”<\/p>\n
Kmart moved its cash registers to the middle of its stores between 2012 and 2015, a decision long debated by customers. <\/p>\n
Centre checkouts meant customers see more items<\/p>\n
Lang said mid-store checkouts had helped lengthen the trip every shopper had to take.<\/p>\n
“By placing these checkouts in the middle, you’re definitely increasing the journey length and the time spent in store, which therefore maximises the probability of buying an item, and just buying more items. It’s definitely more welcoming as well,” he said.<\/p>\n
Aisle browsers were targeted more than shoppers, who came in with a specific task, when retailers designed their store layouts.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-store-from-australia-with-checkouts-at-the-front-ABWGYCJXRFERNMJNTLTFESYCXA.jpg\")
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A store from Australia with checkouts at the front. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
“If they see attractive items in the back of the store, they’re not going to think about the fact that they’re being lured into the back of the store,” Lang said.<\/p>\n
“But that is effectively what’s happening and, so therefore, they’re spending more time in the store \u2013 and they’re seeing more products along the way. Each of these products is the potential for them to open their wallet and spend some money.”<\/p>\n
He said checkout placement also shaped how upmarket a store felt.<\/p>\n
The difference can be seen in stores such as Farmers and Kmart, which might sell many of the same product categories but present them in very different ways.<\/p>\n
“You go into Louis Vuitton or Gucci or Prada, they don’t have their checkout at the entrance door \u2026 They want to get you into the store and show you as many interesting and beautiful products right at the entrance of the store,” he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Set](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/set-to-open-in-2026-kmart-westgate-will-be-the-28th-kmart-st-XMXU7JDYRVAAJDEQIH3HTEH7CY.jpg\")
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Set to open in 2026, Kmart Westgate will be the 28th Kmart store in New Zealand. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
“Having the checkouts in the middle of the store definitely sends a signal to shoppers that this is maybe a slightly more upmarket place.”<\/p>\n
But the centre checkout layout carried a security cost for retailers, with Kmart often stationing staff at exits to check receipts. <\/p>\n
It was a security-oriented measure that Lang said likely grated on honest customers, who made up the vast majority of people walking through.<\/p>\n
“They are generally not appreciative of any measures in store where they feel they’re being treated as if they could be potential thieves,” he said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/buy-now-pay-later-provides-another-way-of-paying-for-goods-a-CWF2WRIZTNELXOKOLNXRNYWLSU.jpg\")
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(Source: istock.com)<\/p>\n
“They effectively say, ‘Why are you treating me like a potential thief?’… there’s a slight sort of knock to your ego as a shopper, as a genuine shopper.”<\/p>\n
Self-checkouts a ‘horses for courses’ question<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Lang said self-service checkouts, which Kmart has been expanding over the past several years, had clear advantages for retailers beyond cutting labour costs.<\/p>\n
“You can fit a lot more self-checkouts into the same area compared to a staffed checkout, so it also gives you the ability to increase throughput, so that you’re reducing waiting times,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Nobody really wants to wait at the checkout, no matter what the store is… if the wait times are too long, people will switch the supermarket or the store entirely, and that would be a disaster for that retailer.”<\/p>\n
![\"Self-checkouts](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/self-checkouts-at-kmart-YE3S32JXRVE7VKOLZR2SW3BNQQ.jpg\")
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Self-checkouts at Kmart. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
Younger shoppers, particularly millennials and Gen Z, tended to prefer self-checkouts compared to older shoppers, he said. <\/p>\n
But the technology came with a documented downside.<\/p>\n
“There is some really interesting research about how when you have self-checkouts… once you’ve put them in, shrinkage increased \u2014 basically, shoplifting increased.”<\/p>\n
Whether self-checkouts suited a retailer at all was “a little bit horses for courses”, Lang said, and depended on the store’s image and what it sold.<\/p>\n
“For some retail transactions, you want to feel the love, and I mean that literally, from the staff that they’re talking to you, they’re making pleasant conversation, they’re telling you how great you look in the garment,” he said.<\/p>\n
“For other types of retailers and other types of shoppers, they don’t want any of that. <\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a-sneak-peek-into-nzs-largest-247-department-store-TF2UZS7M3NAJJKGKU5TEHCSVYM.png\")
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The Kmart opens to customers on Thursday morning. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
“They just want to get the thing they came in for, and then pay for it and get out”.<\/p>\n