5 Hot Topics in Retail Technology - #4: Self-Service Kiosks
Posted by Krista O'Brien on Thu, Sep 08, 2011 @ 08:25 AM
A Faster, Easier Path to Enhancing the Customer Experience
Shoppers have always wanted easy access to information, but now they want it faster than ever, delivered as rich media, and downloadable to their smartphones. Businesses in retail (gift registry, self-checkout, coupons, photo, and point of sale), hospitality (entertainment ticketing and hotel check-in), and transportation (parking and airport check in) are quickly adapting to the changing environment and are reaping the enormous benefits of self-service kiosks.
Now, iPad-driven kiosks are creating the next revolution in the self-service experience. While the iPad provides retailers with communications cost savings and save-the-sale capabilities, increased customer engagement offers the biggest benefit. When kiosks provide intuitive, easy to use screens and instructions like the iPad offers, shoppers can locate items, compare prices, read reviews, view important product details, and complete transactions in a quick and convenient way. And in a way that more and more shoppers now expect to be engaged with.
The Opportunities are Endless
Rich media driven, self-service kiosks provide an excellent solution for delivering information and promotions to customers before they begin shopping. Retailers can position kiosks near the front of the store or department to maximize customer exposure. Self-service kiosks offer a unique, highly effective solution to help improve customer loyalty and create competitive differentiation, while reducing operational costs.
Consider the following ways that both retailers and other industries are leveraging the power of interactive kiosks:
- Mapping and Geolocation – Charleston, SC Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) installed iPad-powered mobile kiosks giving riders interactive access to information about cultural sites and local businesses. Users can in real time, visualize their route, the stops, and places of interest relative to their location.
- Point of Sale – Either directly through a kiosk or near-field communication (NFC) using a smartphone, consumers can make secure payment transactions. In Japan, cell phone-based payments are now the standard means of paying for just about everything. NFC is a short-range extension of
radio frequency identification (RFID), enabling smartphones to communicate with kiosks or RFID readers.
- Product Selection and Ordering – With improved customer service as the main goal, retailers are using self-service kiosks to boost customer “touch time” and promote a multichannel presence in the store. Large retailers and even grocery stores are using kiosks as a virtual sales assistant to save the customer time, preselect products, find product locations, and redeem incentives.
- Recycling – Customers simply scan the item with the kiosk’s barcode reader, which identifies the recyclable item. An on-screen message directs the customer to drop the item into a holding bin. The kiosk tracks recycling transactions, offers incentive points, and prints out coupons rewarding customers for regular recycling.
- Medical Prescriptions – New York-based Guthrie Health uses automated kiosks to offer over-the-counter products in addition to prescriptions via the ScriptCenter kiosk, provided by Asteres Inc. Now, employees and patients have a quick and convenient prescription drop-off and pick-up service, available 24/7 to purchase a wide variety of healthcare products.
Read about how other retailers are using iPad-based kiosks in this past blog article. If you're currently deciding whether to deploy kiosks, download the white paper "Kiosks Are Here -- Are You Ready?".
The fifth and final post in our "Hot Topics in Retail Technology" blog series will examine how retailers are developing closer relationships with their customers through powerful marketing metrics provided by real-time POS data. Don't miss it!