What is going on in the middle of the night at a 24/7 Kmart?

Friday, 21 April 2023

Auckland's Kmart Manukau has now opened its doors for a 24/7 shopping experience.

Entering Kmart’s latest 24/7 store in Auckland at four in the morning, bleary eyes are hardly equipped for the kaleidoscope of colours, fluorescent lights, and material excess.

Situated in Manukau’s Supa Centre, this Kmart is now the country’s second to be a 24/7 store (after Sylvia Park), offering open arms to the night owls of this slice of Auckland’s south side.

When the store opened its upgraded doors on Thursday morning, over a 100 people had reportedly already lined up for their retail therapy fix, according to Newshub.

The retail chain has something of a cult following, inspiring numerous Facebook groups and Instagram pages with tens of thousands of followers dedicated to the store and its goods.

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The beauty and clothing sections in particularly were looking bare after the long day.

A hard day’s night: Moni Vatey Horng (end left) and her team make it through Kmart Manukau’s first overnight shift.

Now, it seems, the majority of the Kmart-obsessed have tucked themselves into bed, leaving the shopping up to the night owls.

The few patrons sleepily shuffling through Kmart’s many aisles flash fleeting smiles to each other, knowing we’re all in on this guilty shopping secret.

Customers drawn to this Kmart’s new always open promise, like moths to a flame, may not be who you would peg as your typical insomniac – there’s giggling groups of friends and whānau members, middle-aged women with full-sized trolleys, and men in high-vis vests, perhaps getting their shopping done before heading off to their work sites for the day.

Customer traffic only died down by 1.40am, says overnight line manager Moni Vatey Horng.

Following the excitement of opening day, some shelves, mostly in the clothing, beauty, books, and toys sections, are already starting to look picked apart and bare, items rumpled and strewn from the day’s excitement.

Despite the long night, Moni Vatey Horng, the store’s overnight line manager, is still bursting with energy as she guides staff across the nearly 5000m² floor, making this Kmart the biggest in the country.

Kmart in itself is something of a sensory overload, but overnight, it turns into a fluorescent ghost town.

“I have to set an example for my team … They look to me for guidance, so I need to be a good leader,” Vatey Horng says.

The team itself is a 20-something strong crowd that have already adopted a group name, Twilight, and although they’re still getting used to their awkward hours, their laughter and banter fills the otherwise eerily quiet air with a comforting safety.

Some shelves bare the shopping war scars, with rumpled and strewn products.

While she admits the store is “a bit messy” at this time, workers have had their hands full, with customer traffic only slowing down after 1.40am.

Some shelves hold products tossed and turned, baring the war scars of the daytime rush, and workers are busy organising and sweeping bits of dust and coat hangers from underneath display sections.

Vatey Horng says she’s seen all sorts of Kiwis during her overnight shift, including emergency service workers and crew from Auckland Airport, and others with nocturnal work shifts.

“They’ve let us know they’re glad we’re open, and we can let them come and do their shopping peacefully,” Vatey Horng says.

“They don’t have to worry about shopping during the day when they need to sleep.”

Kmart in itself is something of a sensory overload, with seemingly endless aisles of brightly coloured products with tempting price tags – at least, in the dead of night, you can take your time scoping out every mug, tea towel, and plush toy available.

The slowness of the store is so far removed from Kmart’s typical vibe you almost expect a pale pink tumbleweed adorned with cursive font to pass through this fluorescent ghost town.

Jas, the store’s security, started his shift at 1am, and says he’s seen less than 20 customers walk through for an early morning shopping experience. None have tried to kick up any trouble.

“I treat them with respect, so they treat me with respect,” he says.

Shuffling towards the exit with my own bag of goods (even I, dear reader, am not immune to the pull of material greed), a worker stops me at the exit with a smile and scans my receipt.

“Have a nice morning.”