Sears Introduces "Meet With An Expert" - Giving Online Shoppers Opportunity To Meet In-Person With Home Appliance Experts

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Oct. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sears, a leading integrated retailer, has introduced "Meet With An Expert" – a free and first-of-its-kind service that improves the home appliance shopping experience by connecting online shoppers with knowledgeable associates in store. The new service is available for home appliance products in Sears stores nationwide.

Sears, which carries all top 10 appliance brands and has been home of Kenmore branded products for more than 100 years, understands how customers shop for appliances – the majority of whom research online prior to purchasing in store.

"Choosing an appliance is a big decision, involving many options," said Leena Munjal, Senior Vice President, Customer Experience and Integrated Retail, Sears Holdings. "Meet With An Expert gives our members a personalized experience that builds on the research they've already done online. Our knowledgeable associate will know the appliances our member is interested in and offer advice specific to their needs."

How it works:

1. The member visits Sears.com, finds the appliances they're interested in and clicks the "Meet with an expert in our store" link. The member selects their store, provides basic contact information, and a preferred appointment day – the request can be in the morning, afternoon or evening in a five-day timeframe.
2. A Sears appliance expert (a knowledgeable Sears home appliance associate) from their local store calls the member back to set up the specific visit time. If the member has a schedule change, the representative will help them reschedule.
3. On the appointed day, the member arrives at the selected store and goes to the marked Meet With An Expert spot in the home appliances department where their assigned appliance expert will be ready to help them compare models, answer their questions, and highlight product features.

Since launching buy online, pickup in-store 14 years ago, Sears has introduced a series of services that connect the online and in-store shopping experience. The new Meet With An Expert service joins a growing list of Sears' convenient and time-saving integrated retail options created by Sears' iRLabs team, including:

• In-Vehicle Pickup, Return and Exchange in Five– a game-changer and retail industry first on this scale. Using the Sears or Shop Your Way mobile app members can pick up, return or exchange their purchases for free – guaranteed in five minutes or less – without ever leaving their vehicle.
• Expanded Free Store Pickup– an online/in-store collaboration that allows members to pick up Sears.com or Kmart.com orders at any of each other's stores – more than 2,000 locations total nationwide.
• Shopping Recaps– in consultative departments like appliances, members can request an email that recaps information they discussed with a Sears associate in store and includes model numbers and other details. The member can pick up where they left off at their convenience later online.
• Reserve It – a timesaving service that allows members to reserve apparel items online for them to quickly try on in store.

Meet With An Expert is currently available for the home appliance categories including refrigerators, washers and dryers, stoves, microwaves, dishwashers, vacuums, small kitchen appliances and more, from top brands like Kenmore. To learn more about Meet With An Expert, visit sears.com/expertadvice or view the informational video at https://youtu.be/sCvgE3cPHTA. Meet With An Expert is available in all stores with the exception of Hometown, Outlet and Puerto Rico locations.

About Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Sears, Roebuck and Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), is a leading integrated retailer providing merchandise and related services and is part of Shop Your Way, a social shopping experience where members have the ability to earn points and receive benefits across a wide variety of physical and digital formats through shopyourway.com. Sears, Roebuck offers its wide range of home merchandise, apparel and automotive products and services through Sears-branded and affiliated full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States. Sears, Roebuck also offers a variety of merchandise and services through sears.com, landsend.com and specialty catalogs. Sears, Roebuck offers consumers leading proprietary brands including Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard– among the most trusted and preferred brands in the U.S. The company is the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 14 million service and installation calls made annually. For more information, visit the Sears, Roebuck website at www.sears.com or the Sears Holdings Corporation website at www.searsholdings.com. 

SOURCE Sears