Growing up, Kmart was more than just a store—it was a destination. Wandering through its aisles, I’d marvel at the seemingly endless rows of toys, clothes, and those iconic flashing blue lights signaling an irresistible deal.
Back then, my hometown had three main shopping options: Kmart, Sears, and JCPenney. While each had its own charm, Kmart stood out as the most fun, a place where shopping felt like an adventure.
This collection of 17 vintage Kmart photos is a nostalgic trip back to those simpler days, when the thrill of a Blue Light Special could send the entire store scrambling.
1. This photo is pure Americana
Tell us in the comments: If you could travel back in time to Kmart, what is the first thing you would be grabbing?
2. The Kmart Cafe
Who remembers Kmart Cafe? Little Caesars and Icees all in one place.
3. Kmart in San Jose back in 1970
I grew up further north in Calfironia, but this looks so much like the location I grew up going to.
4. Kmart Halloween insert from 1985
Adjusting that $1.27 for a “selection of scrumptious Halloween treats that will delight all little ghosts and ghoulies”, those bags of candy including KitKats, Reese’s Whoppers, and Tootsie Rolls would be $3.80.
5. Before the Kmart Cafe was the Kmart Cafeteria.
Looks like the special on the wall was Fried Fish.
6. Where in 1977 you could get a Salisbury steak for $1.08.
This has to be the weirdest collection of menu options.
6. The grand opening of a Raleigh, NC-area Kmart in the 1960s
First stop is getting a submarine sandwich. Second stop is heading straight back to those records.
7. Opening Day of the Kmart in Santa Rosa, California, in 1970.
I would be walking up and down every aisle like a bloodhound looking for a scent. I bet there’s so much cool, cheap stuff on those shelves.
8. Kmart ad from 1985
Adjusted for inflation, that Spacemaker under-the-counter AM/FN radio would $179 in 2025.
9. Who else got their picture taken at Olan Mills inside a Kmart?
My family always alternated between this and the JcPenny’s Portraits.
10. Kmart ad from 1994
11. Kmart in Kentwood, MI on Black Friday in 1986
12. Kmart in Kedzie Square, Chicago in 1982.
13. Kmart Father’s Day specials sometime in the 1980s
What are you getting your dad off Kmart’s “Dad’s Day” insert?
14. Kmart Memorial Day ad (5/27-5/31/99)
I’m pretty sure when I think of what something “should” cost, it’s also somewhere around this period. $0.79 for a 2-liter of soda sounds right to me.
15. “Until everything is sold to the bare walls”
Fascinating to see that they were selling the fixtures as well. They really meant “bare walls.”
16. News article about a Kmart reopening as a Big Kmart.
It puts the loss of jobs in perspective that this article says that this location alone employed 120 people. Multiply that across every location across the country.
17. Kmart receipt from 1987
What jumps out to me about this is that it’s a mechanically printed receipt, and it’s not itemized. It is probably an old hand-crank register receipt.
18. This old Kmart price tag sure bring back memories.
It’s funny how something as insignificant as a price sticker can cause nostalgia.
19. It’s hard to believe that eggs used to cost 38 cents a dozen
I’d love to know what year this is from. The fact that they’re advertising a bellows and log basket tells me it’s pretty old. Well, that and the obvious part about how everything is incredibly cheap.
20. An old Kmart ad celebrating price scanners at the registered and itemized receipts (circa 1985).
It’s funny to remember that before these types of scanners were around any type of itemized receipt had to be handwritten.
21. Love this old photo of the Kmart checkout lines on a busy day
That brown paper bag in the foreground is massive! You can see how big it is, two rows back on the right.
22. Kmart camera department in 1976
I’m honestly more interested in the Wig Sale.
23. Kmart checkout lanes in 1975
Look at all those impulse buys.
24. Kmart Home Electronics department circa 1983
I really love that everything appears to be set up to try out. For some reason I’m surprised they would allow customers to mess with these old machines, but it’s really cool. Wish we could see the Atari section a bit better.
25. A woman withdrawing cash from an ATM near the men’s department in a Kmart in 1986.
Would you look at the size of that ATM?
