Self-service kiosks have been popping up in multiple industries: you see them in airports, quick-service restaurants, and more. Kiosks are also making a splash in the retail industry – and for good reason. In today’s blog, explore the growth of kiosks in the retail industry as a whole, as well as three major advantages of kiosks in retail stores like yours.
The Growth of Kiosks in Retail Stores
The self-service kiosk market is flourishing – according to a 2020 report from Research and Markets, the interactive kiosk market was valued at $23.94 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach an impressive $33.05 billion by 2025.
While, like we explained and you have surely noticed, kiosks are abundant in a variety of markets, the retail industry is certainly a part of the growth of the overall interactive kiosk market.
In terms of how retailers are contributing to the explosion of self-service kiosks, according to the report,
In-store product information and promotional displays have become a prominent source of customer attraction. Self-directed bill payment, check-out, digital signage are some of the key applications that retailers offer to keep their overhead costs low.
With the advent of AI-enabled interactive kiosks gaining popularity in retail applications, it acts as a catalyst for adoption of interactive kiosks in retail. Many organizations in the marketplace are seen collaborating with an aim to offer the retail industry with targeted marketing.
Also, many online retailers are seen widely adopting kiosks to make an offline retail presence. For Instance, in 2019, Amazon planned to roll out more than 100 kiosks in malls across India to sell its devices such as the Kindle ebook reader, the Echo speaker, and the Fire TV dongle by the end of the year.
Key Advantages of Self-Service Kiosks in Retail Stores
So, why exactly are self-service kiosks popping up in so many retail applications and what’s in it for you, the retailer? Read on to learn more about three major advantages of kiosks in retail stores.
1. Increased Profits
Money matters and simply put, self-service kiosks can help you make more of it.
First, upselling – or introducing an upgraded and profitable good or service, like adding an extended warranty to a product – happens easily and naturally on a self-service kiosk. In a similar vein, kiosks also present many opportunities for cross-selling, or offering a complimentary product or service, like adding an accessory on to the purchase of a shirt. According to Olea Kiosks Inc., kiosks in the quick service restaurant market can increase sales by 15% due to effective upselling and cross-selling – and that trend isn’t only found in restaurants. The kiosk manufacturer claims that studies show that customers in a variety of good and services industries also enjoy the add-on products and services that kiosks seamlessly offer – and that make your business more money.
The money-making opportunities don’t stop there. By installing self-service kiosks in new, additional locations, they can also help your business bring in more profit by reaching new customers in different places and thus selling more product.
Lastly, by providing a better customer experience – which we will discuss in further detail below – staff can focus on strategically selling instead of simply answering questions or ringing up sales, which can lead to a higher total sales volume.
2. Better Customer Experience
Satisfied customers are returning customers. Keep your shoppers happy with self-service kiosks, which can improve the customer experience in multiple ways.
- Reduce Line Length: No one likes waiting. In fact, one study found that waiting in long lines causes roughly 50% of customers to believe that the business is run poorly, and over 50% of shoppers will take their business elsewhere if they feel the line is too long. Furthermore, 87% of shoppers say they would gladly use a self-service kiosk if it meant they don’t have to spend as much time waiting in line.
- Easily View Inventory: Easily accessible information is important to customers, and self-service kiosks make it a piece of cake for shoppers to find product pricing, availability, and feature comparison information.
- Omnichannel Shopping: Sometimes the product your shopper needs isn’t available in your brick-and-mortar store, but it is available online. Self-service kiosks enable customers to easily shop additional products, sizes, and options even if they are not available in-store.
- Manage Gift Registries: Self-service kiosks help shoppers easily create, edit, and manage their gift registry, and help customers quickly find a loved one’s gift registry.
3. More Efficient Use of Staff
Last but not least, self-service kiosks can free up a lot of time for your staff. Like we mentioned above, instead of simply ringing up sales, staff can spend more time stocking, cleaning, and providing customer service. Focusing on these duties can lead to happier employees, too – by providing a better overall customer experience by spending more time one-on-one with shoppers and maintaining a cleaner store, more sales may be made and staff may experience higher commissions. Additionally, kiosks can be used for hiring purposes by making the job application process quick and easy for candidates.
Star Micronics and Self-Service Kiosks
Always leading, and always innovating, Star Micronics is proud to offer a robust range of self-service kiosk printers. With printer options available to accommodate a variety of paper sizes, interfaces, footprints, and operating systems, Star Micronics provides printing options for virtually any retailers’ needs.
Kiosk Printer Family Features:
- 2”, 3”, and 4” paper sizes
- Compact or modular footprints
- Available with multiple accessories including bezels, presenters, large paper roll holders, and more
- Support Windows, Linux, Android, Mac, and iOS
- Print receipts, tickets, coupons, or adhesive labels
- Interfaces include serial, USB, parallel, and Ethernet
Ready to learn more about Star Micronics’ self-service printing solutions?
For businesses and integrators with tight budgetary constraints, there are still options for assembling a highly sophisticated self-service kiosk solution. For example, businesses can pair a desktop printer, with the right technology built-in, with a universal tablet enclosure, a tablet, and a tablet stand. This is when finding the right one-stop shop POS manufacturer to work with that can provide all of those components becomes key.
