Dream or nightmare? Kmart shopper gets locked in after store closes, lights go out

Man locked in Kmart when it closed during shopping
Queensland shopper Dan documented the ordeal on TikTok, when the store lights went out while he was browsing. Photo credit: TikTok/@danstube.tv

If you're a big Kmart fan, you've probably daydreamed about having free reign in the store after closing time: Wrapping yourself in faux fur throws and blankets, filling trollies with copper wire baskets and fake plants, and maybe dabbling in a workout with the sports equipment. 

But it turns out the reality isn't quite as dreamy, as one Australian man discovered after apparently getting locked inside his local Kmart one evening. 

Queensland shopper Dan documented the ordeal on TikTok, when the store lights went out while he was browsing. 

In the video, he explained as Queenstown lockdown finished at 4pm, he'd gone to his local Kmart at 5:50pm - missing the 5:30pm and 5:45pm announcements the store was soon to shut.

"I greeted the lady at the front and said 'Hi!'," Dan explained. 

"I was then casually browsing the store for stuff and out of nowhere, boom, the lights go down and I'm in this situation thinking 'What is happening?'

"I then start running around the store thinking 'What is going on?' I start shouting 'Hello? Is anyone here? I'm on my own?'"

Eventually a security guard on the other side of the roller door heard Dan's shouts and came to help him - but had no way of getting him out. 

"We're trying to figure out 'What can I do here?'" he recounted 

"So I decided that I'd go to the back doors and try one of the fire doors.

"And I actually get out of the fire doors, but stumble across a staff member."

He was then released into the mall by the staff member and was forced to do a "walk of shame" out of the mall. 

His saga has racked up over 200,000 views on TikTok, with many fellow Kmart fans saying they would have loved the experience. 

"That would have been fun though," one person commented. 

"Getting locked in Kmart sounds like a good time!" agreed another.

Others couldn't believe the store had emptied so fast. 

"The staff really said, 'we're leaving NOW'," someone pointed out.