Kiosks Now and into the Future
By Stephen Gottlich, Sr. Vice President, Innovation and Strategy, Gable
1. Kiosks are a vital communication tool and link to consumers at the Point of Decision (POD). We see a kiosk as an interactive canvas that can be placed in places and spaces to meet and greet customers. The most important trend is a new approach to omnichannel retail, customers have recently been offered more choices as an effect of the pandemic, curbside pickup, home deliveries, online ordering, all have advanced rapidly in the last few months, all of these initiatives have offered consumers more choices, using apps to shop is now commonplace. However, in many cases there is a gap between App usage and the instore experience, kiosks fill that gap, greeting customers at check in with dynamic offers, interactive choices and compelling offers create a bridge between online and instore experiences.
2. Innovation is abundant, we are seeing the inclusion of multiple functions such as voice activation particularly in the banking world where ATM’s are becoming more of a full banking service than ever before, airports are using kiosks effectively for sophisticated experience filled wayfinding solutions that include boarding pass readers, voice activation, NFC and RF features. The link between mobile devices and kiosks is the focus of many innovative trends today, kiosks act as the billboard, the headline news designed to activate and create a reaction that can then be followed up either on the kiosk itself or on any mobile device.
3. As the User Experience and User Interface development (UI and UX) improves and becomes both an art and a science then kiosks will become more of the typical interface at retail. It has been proven that at QSR in particular, kiosks are a more efficient and accurate point of contact than a human interface, kiosks can communicate in multiple languages, offer clear descriptions of products and services and in many cases have the ability to upsell in a non salesy manner that consumers appreciate.
We see the future embracing a higher usage of loyalty programs tied to purchase behavior and kiosks are a perfect connection to these programs, the rewards they offer and a place to communicate the benefits of these programs effectively. As we become a more multi-cultural world, the ability for kiosks to communicate in many languages makes them a point of contact to many that is preferable to a human interface that in many cases does not offer the expected experience consumers demand. We believe that financial institutions such as banks, grocery stores, drug stores and other essential industries will see a growing need to implement kiosks to provide the services demanded.
