Adding Flash and Dazzle
Kiosk marketing is on the rise as more companies find broader applicationsfor electronic pitchmen. Hasbro, Inc., Pawtucket, RI, recently contractedwith Interactive Sales Systems, Peekskill, NY, to put kiosks in 400 TargetStores nationally. Set as end-cap displays, the kiosks will promote Hasbroproducts via 13-inch monitors with touchscreen control and full-motionvideo for product information and special offers. The system gives shoppers”sizzle, bang, and solid information,” says Hasbro vp-sales Richard Berne.
Target is no stranger to kiosks. The mass merchandiser runs its Club Weddgift registry via kiosks in 345 stores. Brides (and grooms) walk the aisleswith a scanner and swipe the UPC of items they want. Guests access the listvia touchscreen kiosks maintained by Fractura Kiosks, Rochester, NY, oronline. Club Wedd kiosks also give tips on wedding planning, honeymoons,even how to avoid stress on the Big Day.
“Kiosks really can enrich the shopping experience,” says Rufus Connell, ananalyst for consultancy Frost & Sullivan, San Francisco. “They can add alot of flash and dazzle, a unique dimension to shopping.”
The electronic systems are like “a disciplined sales force,” says GenerosaLitton, author of a recent Frost & Sullivan study on kiosks. “They don’ttire, don’t get temperamental, don’t lose their temper at customers, andnever have to go the restroom.”
Marketers bought 150,000 kiosks worldwide last year, 65,000 of them forretail use, says Litton. U.S. companies bought 50,000, with another 51,000tagged for sale this year. “If you’re [a kiosk vendor], you have a lot ofpotential for revenues,” says Litton. “You can transform companies.”
New applications have put the kiosk industry “on the edge of explosivegrowth,” she asserts. Consumers’ comfort with computers and desire forreal-time information are fueling the rise.
Triton Systems, Long Beach, MI, has produced an ATM designed forconvenience stores. During transactions, the screen shows full-motion videopromotions and ads. A sidecar attachment vends money orders, ski-lifttickets, or prepaid phonecards.
Kiosks handle a broad array of marketing and sales-tracking functions. Thechassis or enclosures can be used to promote brands. Triton’s Mako modelpromotes a loyalty points program for PowerSlam sports drinks on the frontof its chassis. It can also dispense printed offers from local businessessuch as hotels, theaters, and bowling alleys.
Printers are becoming an essential feature of kiosks. About 90 percent ofkiosks had printers last year, up from 60 percent in ’97. That enablesmarketers to distribute contest entry forms, coupons, and recipes.Inter-Act Systems, Norwalk, CT, piggybacks grocers’ frequent-shopper cardsto offer deals based on each shopper’s past purchases. Kiosks at the storeentrance are linked to point-of-sale and the database. A shopper swipes hersupermarket-issued card to trigger offers, which are automatically redeemedwhen her card is swiped again at checkout. Inter-Act has 1,800-plus kiosksin chains including A&P, Lucky Stores, and Jewel Foods, and may be in 2,500stores by year’s end. Offers also appear on the kiosk chassis.
Kiosks are versatile, but extremely expensive. “It’s the high acquisitionand installation costs that kill you,” says Donald Lunetta, Sr., presidentof Interactive Sales Systems. Litton agrees: “Price is still a barrier forsmall players.”
Average costs are declining, and are now less than $8,000 per standardkiosk unit, Litton estimates. That’s down from $9,400 in February, when shewrote the Frost & Sullivan report. But while per-unit costs fall, marketersare putting more money into customizing kiosks and content.
Retailers should be prepared to spend at least $5,000 for a basic unit,Litton advises. Cost-conscious companies have had little luck cobblingtogether their own kiosks: “They’d get a wooden box, a touchscreen, and aPC and, lo and behold, it would overheat and breakdown,” she says. “Itlooks pretty easy to do, but it isn’t.”
A good system that handles training, customer service, and lowers laborcosts will more than pay for itself. Kiosks are a great tool to trackconsumer data while dispensing promos. For example, airport kiosks reach aprime demographic of business people with moderate income in a densetraffic area, says Fractura marketing manager Lisa Scibetta. Users getpromotional messages while using the kiosk to obtain information.
Litton says more businesses want kiosks to handle sales transactions – notjust dispense information – while pitching promo offers. Lenexa, KS-basedTouchNet Information Systems is studying self-serve gas station paymentsystems to adapt kiosks for transactions. “Consumers want a kiosk that issecure and simple to use,” Litton says.
Marketers want kiosks that give them reach at a decent price. It takes somebean-counting, but many are finding it worth the investment.
