Kmart Sees the Light

I n a related story, Brian Sugar, Bluelight.com's chief Web officer (Kmart's retail Web operation) notes Kmart's preference for check payments on their Web site, by commenting on both reduced cost and increased usage. "Credit card companies generally charge between 2% and 5% of the transaction price," he noted as he mused about lower check handling costs on the site, and in speaking his excitment about reaching a planet-wide shopping audience from their Web site. Sugar also noted an unspoken fact among retailers, "70 million adult Americans don't have credit cards."

If you have not as yet seen one of Kmart's Bluelight.com print ads, which features two UFO craft speeding down the highway, just off the pavement, shining a massive blue light as they travel, and a caption that notes "The Blue Light is Back," then you may not fully appreciate that we think it's great that Kmart is seeing the light about checks, even if it is the bluelight. We also think that they are not the only retailer in the universe to understand checks are inextricably linked to their success in reaching the masses.