The Wisconsin-based department store chain reported a 2.5 percent increase in same-store sales for the third quarter. At the company’s physical stores, comparable-store sales were flat, while its sales on the digital side increased to the mid-teens.

The retailer gained market share from competitors that closed stores during the quarter, says CFO Bruce Besanko. Among those competitors is The Bon-Ton, which closed 212 stores and which is a co-anchor with Kohl's at some centers.

“In total, we believe approximately one-third of our store base is being favorably affected by department-store-competitor store closings, a significant increase over the one-fourth that benefited last year,” Besanko said. "We expect the Bon-Ton closures to be especially opportunistic, given the strong overlap of their store and customer base with ours in markets where we tend to outperform. This increase in closures provides a unique opportunity to capture market share.”

The company is investing in new technologies for its stores. “Stores are here to stay, but their role is evolving,” CEO Michelle Gass told analysts on the company's earnings call. “This quarter we launched two pilot stores where we are testing a new customer-service-center concept that includes a centralized checkout, a new impulse-merchandising approach, self-checkout, new self-service kiosks and BOPIS lockers. We’re also equipping our associates with iPads to be able to assist customers through mobile 'endless aisle.' ”

Kohl’s will also continue its pilot with Amazon, thanks to enthusiastic response from customers, Gass says. The retailer now accepts Amazon merchandise returns at about 100 stores in three markets and has tripled the number of Amazon shops operating inside Kohl’s stores, to 30. “We’ll be selling Amazon-branded products across all stores for the holiday season.”