Discover four ways to get the most out of your cinema kiosk.
Kiosks are integral to the cinema experience, especially for theaters with a small staff. A kiosk can be used to purchase tickets, retrieve tickets bought online, and to place concession orders. These machines are especially important to movie-goers who arrive at the theater with just a few minutes to spare—they can bypass the line to purchase tickets or snacks and still find a seat in the theater before the previews start.
But don’t take our word for it—market research shows that given a choice, people actually prefer the do-it-yourself route. One published study found that 89 percent of 1,000 people surveyed would “sometimes” or “always” choose a self-service kiosk over a full-service option. These kiosks are typically easy to use and engage cinema-goers during the ordering process.
A self-service kiosk is a win for your customers and your concession stand—these kiosks encourage larger orders by giving customers extra time to look through the menu and discover new items they would like to try.
Is your cinema kiosk reaching its full potential? Consider these four things:
1. Thermal printer support: A cinema kiosk should be equipped with a heavy duty thermal printer. The kiosk will need to produce tickets in the fastest way possible, and a thermal printer can do just that. The printer should also offer a jam free system. Having the receipts cut before the customer receives the ticket prevents the kiosk from jamming.
2. Bar code scanner: Movie theaters offer their own loyalty programs, but what good is being a member if you can’t scan your card at the cinema kiosk? Some cinema kiosks activate by touch screen or credit card swipe, while others require scanning a loyalty card. Your customers love freebies and accruing points towards free movie tickets, so don’t make them wait on the full-service line to get their rewards.
3. Integrated speakers: A cinema kiosk should also include a set of integrated speakers to talk customers through the ticket buying and checkout process. This is especially important for people who aren’t familiar with self-service kiosks and need some additional direction and patrons who have vision issues and can’t read the screen clearly.
4. Card Payment Acceptance: If your full-service lines accept credit card payments, your cinema kiosk needs to accept them too. Not everyone carries cash, so make sure your kiosk is equipped with a card reader and payment processing platform.
Star Micronics’ kiosk printers give the added benefit of Star Cloud Services (SCS). With SCS the printer has a lot more to offer the seller and consumer. Engage Now is a service that prompts the consumer to rate their experience with the kiosk. The managers also get the ability to check the status of their equipment to make sure everything is running smoothly. There are still a number of tools available when using Star Micronics Cloud Services.
Cinema kiosks are the preferred method of ticket ordering, pickup and payment for many theater goers who want to control the process or skip the line because they’re short on time, or they don’t want to wait on line. Ordering snacks and drinks at the kiosk is a great way to generate additional sales, as people have a little extra time to peruse the menu at their own pace. A self-service kiosk serves a very specific purpose, so make sure it’s equipped with the features that will people through quickly so they can enjoy the show.tun
