5 Dos And Don'ts Of Kiosk Implementation

By John Roach, Editor, Retail Solutions Online

Interactive kiosks offer retailers significant opportunities to increase sales and productivity, improve customer service and satisfaction, and lower operational costs. Current kiosk applications include self-checkout, gift registries, online store access, loyalty programs, price check, and wayfinding, and the list continues to grow. In fact, market research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan estimates that the North American kiosk market will almost double, from $484 million in 2008 to $828 million 2013.

Are you maximizing the potential of kiosks in your stores? I talked to numerous retail technology authorities to determine the things you should — and shouldn't — do when implementing a kiosk initiative in your business. Follow these best practices to generate more sales and enhance your customers' in-store experience using kiosks.

1. DO: Look At The Big Picture

Before implementing kiosks — or adding more — consider the level to which your customers are already interacting with them, both inside and outside your store. Kiosks have become ingrained in our daily lives. We experience them at ATMs, during airline check-in, when we pay for gas at the pump, and in countless other ways. When determining your kiosk system requirements, take into account not only your customers' experience within your store (or your competitors' stores), but also their dealings with kiosks in other retail and non-retail environments. Your kiosks must seamlessly integrate into the greater self-service ecosystem, providing customers the convenience and speed they have come to expect from other kiosks.

Remember, though, that one size doesn't fit all — kiosks that work in one application won't necessarily succeed in another. For instance, a time-saving price-checking kiosk that works for a large retailer might be an anathema to a specialty store that emphasizes personalized customer attention. The key to a successful kiosk implementation: Focus on your customers' needs. "You have to identify a specific customer problem that your customers are experiencing, and then use your kiosks to solve that problem," Star Micronics director of business development Christophe Naasz told me.

2. DON'T: Let Your IT Department Call All The Shots

Your kiosk implementation planning should incorporate the opinions of people from outside the IT department. There's one simple reason for this, Chris Peter, VP for self-service software provider St. Clair Interactive Communications, told me. "It's not an information technology system that's being deployed, it's a customer experience technology," he said.

In addition to IT, be sure to also include representatives from marketing, operations, and any other department that has a stake in customer experience in your kiosk discussions. "IT has been in the driver's seat a lot more than it should," Peter added. "There has to be a cohesive team approach. No one group should have more power than another, and everyone's input should be heard."

3. DO: Reallocate Your Workforce

Kiosk applications allow you to maximize customer self-service, particularly at check-out, which in turn allows you to better position store employees for direct customer interaction and upselling opportunities. Kiosks shouldn't replace your workers; instead they should free your employees to engage in higher-value activities.

A study conducted by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ("Retail Store Execution: An Empirical Study," December 2006) highlights the kind of opportunities you can take advantage of when you deploy your kiosks and employees the right way. It found that 24% of consumers were unable to find at least one item they'd planned to buy, 15% couldn't find a price, and 14% couldn't find an associate when they wanted one. "Those are huge numbers; you're talking about a lot of revenue that's potentially left on the table," said Fredrik Carlegren, IBM's offering marketing manager for Store Integration Framework.

"It's really about optimizing your labor," Carlegren added. "That's why it's so important for retailers not to think of kiosks as one-off, stand-alone solutions but instead in terms of a broader strategy and a broader context."

4. DO: Outfox Your Competition

What kiosk idea can you come up with that's so unique your competition won't even see it coming? For instance, the success of Redbox (along with Netflix) contributed to the continued decline of movie rental giant Blockbuster, whose recent SEC filing raised serious questions about its ability to even stay in business. Who would have thought a tiny, red DVD-dispensing kiosk could inflict such damage on a 7,500-store behemoth? Then again, who'd have thought you could rent a movie for a buck?

Consider brainstorming new ideas with your vendors, many of whom are also looking for creative kiosk solutions in this economy. For example, iTek Services, a POS hardware and systems provider, recently proposed three unique kiosk applications to its customers in the wine, deli, and pet store markets. "We're just trying to think outside the box," iTEK president Blair McKay told me.

5. DON'T: Forget To Plan For The Future

Kiosk technologies continue to evolve, and so should your approach to kiosk implementation, particularly regarding multichannel integration. "Retailers are going to start demanding — and consumers will, too — that information flow across channels in a way that's relevant to both parties," IBM's Carlegren told me. "That's what retailers need to start looking at."

The next step in the evolution of kiosks is occurring already, as they become increasingly smaller and in some cases even portable. For example, Stop & Shop's Scan It! handheld scanners operate like mobile kiosks, allowing customers to scan and bag their items in the grocery aisles, while simultaneously delivering them coupons and promotions based on their individual shopping history.

"We'll see more use of self-service mobility in terms of checking out, placing orders, comparing prices, and finding products — whether it be on a phone or some other communication device," Epson senior marketing consultant Barry Wise told me. "The world of retail self-service technology is changing."

Have a comment about this article? Let me know. Visit our blog or contact me at jroach@vertmarkets.com.