Kmart is launching a new program where online reviews of video games will be displayed on store shelves, an initiative aimed at building ties between the chain’s online and in-store gaming fans.
Kmart, owned by Sears Holding Corp., announced the feature on its KmartGamer blog and in a live chat with gaming enthusiasts via Twitter.
New game reviews will be put on shelves every few months, Kmart said. In order to qualify, consumers have to be registered users of MyKmart.com and review games that are either new or are “evergreen,” meaning they are expected to be featured in-store for several months.
Kmart is encouraging its reviewers to be succinct while writing for a broad audience that includes a variety of ages and levels of experience with video games. The in-store review cards will list the author’s name or username.
The blog post did note that Kmart will not be sending free games for MyKmart users to test and review.
Sears has undertaken a number of e-commerce and social media initiatives in the last several years, including acquiring the assets of a social search engine company in March 2009 and posting job openings for Sears and Kmart on Twitter.