Eye on Retail: Sears enters new partnership with Amazon
Sears Holdings Corp. is taking its relationship with Amazon to a new level.
The department store retailer said that Sears Auto Centers will offer full-service tire installation and balancing for customers who purchase any brand of tires on Amazon.com. The service initially launched at 47 Sears Auto Centers in eight metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and New York. It will be rolled out to all 400-plus Sears Auto Centers nationwide during the coming weeks.
The deal is seen as a win-win for both retailers. It gives beleaguered Sears a new revenue stream and gives Amazon a way to serve up in-store services even though it lacks a national network of physical retail.
The partnership reflects the growing relationship between Sears and Amazon, which started when Sears began selling its Kenmore appliances on Amazon in July 2017. The brand is now distributed nationally on Amazon with over 250 products. And since December, select products from Sears’ DieHard brand have been sold on Amazon.com, with the lineup steadily expanding.
The collaboration means that Sears Auto will become the first nationwide auto service center to offer Amazon customers the ship-to-store tire solution integrated into the online retailer’s checkout process. To take advantage of the service, Amazon customers select their tires, the Sears Auto location and their preferred date and time for the tire installation. Sears will then contact the customer to confirm the appointment.
In addition, as part of the deal and for the first time, Sears’ DieHard all-season passenger tires will be sold on Amazon.
The department store retailer said that Sears Auto Centers will offer full-service tire installation and balancing for customers who purchase any brand of tires on Amazon.com. The service initially launched at 47 Sears Auto Centers in eight metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and New York. It will be rolled out to all 400-plus Sears Auto Centers nationwide during the coming weeks.
The deal is seen as a win-win for both retailers. It gives beleaguered Sears a new revenue stream and gives Amazon a way to serve up in-store services even though it lacks a national network of physical retail.
The partnership reflects the growing relationship between Sears and Amazon, which started when Sears began selling its Kenmore appliances on Amazon in July 2017. The brand is now distributed nationally on Amazon with over 250 products. And since December, select products from Sears’ DieHard brand have been sold on Amazon.com, with the lineup steadily expanding.
The collaboration means that Sears Auto will become the first nationwide auto service center to offer Amazon customers the ship-to-store tire solution integrated into the online retailer’s checkout process. To take advantage of the service, Amazon customers select their tires, the Sears Auto location and their preferred date and time for the tire installation. Sears will then contact the customer to confirm the appointment.
In addition, as part of the deal and for the first time, Sears’ DieHard all-season passenger tires will be sold on Amazon.