Kohl’s Expands Marketplace to New Categories Following Successful Pilot

Kohl's is opening its online marketplace to all categories.

Kohl’s is opening its third-party marketplace to sellers in all categories following a successful pilot of the platform.

The Kohl’s Marketplace already features thousands of products in categories including apparel, fitness, wellness, toys and home. Now the retailer plans to scale the platform by opening up to third-party sellers in all areas, in particular:

  • Apparel and accessories, including men’s, women’s, kids, bags, backpacks, sunglasses, gloves, hats and scarves;
  • Sports and fitness, with a focus on exercise equipment, sporting goods, and health and wellness products;
  • Pet supplies such as beds and furniture, bowls and feeders, and toys;
  • Home, including furniture, kitchen, home décor, patio and garden;
  • Toys, including items for backyard fun;
  • Baby Gear such as furniture, carriers, strollers, and health and cleaning; and
  • Electronics.

With digital now accounting for 30% of Kohl’s sales annually, CEO Tom Kingsbury specifically pointed to the marketplace and the connected Kohl’s Media Network as “two key digital growth initiatives” for the beleaguered retailer on the company’s Q4 2022 earnings call. “Kohl’s Marketplace is broadening our product offering online to capture incremental sales opportunities, and Kohl’s Media Network is leveraging our digital platform and site traffic to partner with more of our key brands and capture more advertising dollars,” Kingsbury said on the call.

Kohl's marketplace listing showing the ways third-party site are integrated on kohls.com.
Source: Kohl’s

The Kohl’s Marketplace is integrated into Kohls.com, and all marketplace purchases qualify for the company’s popular loyalty program — customers can earn and redeem Kohl’s Cash coupons and Kohl’s Rewards as well as pay for their marketplace purchases with their Kohl’s Card. The user experience is seamless within Kohls.com, with marketplace products identified by a badge on the product listing, and items are shipped directly from Kohl’s Marketplace Certified Partners. Kohl’s Marketplace items also are eligible for in-store returns at any Kohl’s location.

The retailer is inviting merchants interested in selling on its marketplace to visit Marketplace.Kohls.com to sign up.