Interactive Kiosk News

Gold in Those Hills, I mean, Kiosks

2009-07-16T15:58:00.001-05:00

My favorite aspect of this business is the amazing range of uses that are available for kiosks. A few months back I wrote about the tremendous growth in money transfer kiosks for immigrants who want to quickly send money back to relatives in their country of origin. And ATMS are, of course, the Big Daddy of kiosks, now ubiquitous and indispensable to contemporary life worldwide. And, of course, let's not forget betting kiosks, some of which (for example the iSports stand shown below) have memorably been called "ATMs on steroids."

Now, with the financial world still on shaky ground, some people perceive a market for kiosks for gold exchange. The New York Times recently highlighted a new line of vending kiosks marketed by TG-Gold-Super-Markt which will allow people to purchase one to ten gram pieces of gold. The first of these new "gold dispensing machines" appeared in Frankfurt this month. The company plans to install more in airports and railroad stations across Germany (its home base), eventually branching out to Switzerland and Austria, according to a Financial Times report. The current model, with the name "Gold to Go" is nothing more than a big gold box, but it does have video surveillance and up-to-date pricing. These may never become as commonplace as your standard ATM (although wouldn't it be interesting if your standard ATM could do a bit more?), but perhaps the design will improve as people become used to purchasing security in little nuggets rather than in crisp bills. The Gold Rush has never been more contemporary -- or dull looking -- as it is today.

Lessons to Learn: Kiosk Touch Screens vs the Digital In-Home Market

2009-07-02T11:48:00.001-05:00

Sales of new technology are up and down in this Brave New Economy. That's significant on the retail consumer goods end, but it's also important on the side of corporate investment in forward-thinking technology to advance sales and customer service. The adoption of new gadgets is an important cross-over concern: if people adapt and adopt on one side (for example, by buying new products for their personal use), they are more likely to adopt and adapt on the other side (by being willing to use new interfaces in retail settings). And, of course, vice versa.

Here's one example to think about in relation to the interactive kiosk industry: touch screens.

Over the last decade, consumers have become more and more comfortable with touch screen technology in the retail marketplace, particularly as ordering kiosks become ubiquitous in the food and hospitality industry and tourism depends on informational kiosks. Consumer spending on electronics has been clearly focused on devices with innovative benefits. Apple's iPhone has certainly changed the nature of everyday touch screen use (I watched my kids play the cat toss app and learned a whole new approach to gaming) and opened up a host of possibilities for developers. At the same time, it's important to note that people have been slower to adopt the touch screen on other home electronics.

Why? Here's one thought: Different languages require different keyboards -- we all know that -- but do touch screens and kiosks require different interfaces? Many in the business tout touch screens because they bypass literacy issues -- that is, people who are simply unable to read information on billboards and menus are liberated by the visual elements of touch screens (pictures of the menu offerings rather than lots of description;). Someone traveling to Mexico who cannot speak the language can rely on icons and images when interacting with a currency exchange kiosk; A person with limited literacy can still order off the menu at a fast food restaurant because the pictures illustrate the meal choices.

But it turns out that touch screens are, indeed, for the most part, tied to written knowledge and culture-specific hand gestures. HP, which has been in the forefront of bringing touch screen technology into the PC/ home computer market, has been studying the various local, regional, and national differences in the way people use their hands. According to an interview in PC Magazine, Phil McKinney, the vice president and chief technical officer of Hewlett Packard,

"What our researchers are working on, is literally creating a dictionary of touch and gestures from around the world," McKinney said. "When someone happens to be in-country, I'm throwing a video camera at them, saying run the test, videotape her, bring the videotape back. Do things like, say, put a monitor up, put a picture up [on it], say to them, if you wanted to make that picture bigger, how would you do that?" Apple's iPhone and iPod touch have popularized the two-finger "pinch" command, McKinney noted. "But in some parts of the world they don't know what the pinch command is, and the user will try to grab the image from the side...They'll do fingers."

Unfortunately, the touch dictionary will remain part of HP's research and development rather than a nice anthropologically-based tool for the larger population. This research strikes me as a bit disingenuous -- and, frankly, ignorant of the reams of knowledge already gathered by those in the retail kiosk touch screen world. But even in the in-home market, consider how the Wii has had magnificent worldwide success and there's no universality to the gestures required. And back to our crossover example: Kiosk touch screen technology gets developed and deployed successfully in myriad settings without too much complaining about gestures and cultural illiteracy. In fact, because kiosk touch screens are used more broadly by a wider population -- and in a variety of contexts (from SeaWorld to CVS, from India to Kansas) -- they have to be more finely tuned to user needs. And innovative: think of the recent thin foil screens that can be attached to any glassy surface (Barking Snail's version shown here).

The lesson that home-use touch screen technology can learn from touch screen development in the kiosk industry: making it innovative means creating software that "makes touch useful rather than a mere curiosity." As the New York Times points out, no one benefits if the applications are not interesting.

images: Laxton Kiosks; Barking Snail, Perceptive Pixels.

Intelligent Design and Innovation in the Self-Service World

2009-06-23T08:26:00.001-05:00

One of the most exciting things about kiosks, aside from their versatility, is the design potential. Kiosks can be almost anything, from a simple screen on a desk to a chambered nautilus. Even the simple formats (the "library catalogue" version) beg for user-friendly construction. Beauty isn't a bad feature either. Check out this IDSA award-winning example from University of Illinois Urbana Champlain student Toshihiro Fujimura, whose design is one of the few I've seen that actually has a functionality to its arched body (the kiosk is "bendable" such that it's easily reachable by someone shorter than average or in a wheelchair). Someone should tell Toshihiro to name it "praying mantis" because that's ultimately what it resembles.

We're not quite at the mobile monster stage, as predicted by Futuresonic, but the kiosk in their promo intrigues and suggests possibilities. A 45-second video featuring a rolling kiosk has become the launchpad for 2010's FutureEverything.

Even ordinary applications can be extraordinarily deployed. Ecast recently took home the award for its high-definition digital signage display that delivers digital music, games, video, user-generated content, targeted advertising and social applications and offers myriad opportunities for promotion at the point of purchase. A "revamped jukebox" for bars, offers many features, including s a 40-inch, full HD flat-panel touchscreen. The display can support any manner of content and is divided into three sections to offer various types of views. Interestingly, the device's shape looks similar to a giant Apple iPhone, attracting users to explore its content even more.

Speaking of Apple, of course, the thing that has all design folks atwitter is the revelation that Apple has had a kiosk patent out since 2007 and appears ready to launch iTunes kiosk availability in malls, airports, and other sites. If these new kiosks are anything like Apple's other products, expect sleek design, straightforward functionality, and easy of use.

But until we get that kiosk locally, perhaps it's important for kiosk design to participate in the re-conceptualization of retail spaces like malls. New York Times design blogger Allison Arieff recently returned from the 2009 International Council on Shopping Centers Convention in Las Vegas and promptly blogged a rich presentation of the various successful innovations on the whole mall idea. Because of their versatility, kiosks should have a prominent place in new community designs and retail centers (be they traditional malls or new urban amphitheaters of localized consumption). Arieff's blog should be a great starting place for those re-conceptualizing future use value for kiosks beyond the hospital and fast food line.

Finally, in Auberdeen Scotland, an experiment with free wifi has worked well, including the public web kiosks. The spots look like an outcropping of urban beach umbrellas, have only been damaged a few times since they were first put up, and provides invaluable free wifi to all. I love these because they evoke beach umbrellas ready to take off into space.

Will the humble DVD kiosk take down mighty Netflix?

2009-05-12T14:57:00.001-05:00

Most Netflix users I know can't say enough good things about the service. Cheaper and easier than going to the video store, and with a much -- MUCH -- wider and deeper selection of titles to choose from, it comes highly regarded by video novices and serious movie buffs alike. So it's funny to think that in spite of this a little DVD rental kiosk that can only stock a hundred or so titles might be the thing to take the company down a peg.

Well, maybe a couple tens of thousands of the devices...

But this isn't my prognostication. It comes from none other than the CEO of the firm himself, Reed Hastings, as this NewTeeVee article mentions: "Hastings reinforced the company’s commitment to DVDs and Blu-ray and said he believes there is still a lot of growth in its rental by mail business. Rental kiosks and their $1 new release movies are expected to be Netflix’s No. 1 competition by the end of the year."

I have to imagine that the convenience of the two approaches is relatively similar. Is it easier to make a queue of videos and get them in your mailbox, or pause in front of a kiosk on your way out the door of your local supermarket? It's basically a wash. However, while the kiosks will never be able to match the depth of selection that Netflix offers, it can provide some instant gratification that Netflix -- even with their new on-demand streaming service -- can't yet match (for new releases, at least).

I'm sure that both Netflix and the numerous DVD rental kiosk owners out there know that it's only a matter of time before the next big switch happens, and people turn to their computers, or Internet-connected TVs, to do the majority of their movie renting and downloading.

Beyond Earth Day: Saving the Planet with Technology AND Nature

2009-04-29T09:07:00.001-05:00

Earth Day has come and gone, but for the first time since the event originated 39 years ago, the general public, corporations, and governments are returning to the green message in a serious way, translating environmental concerns into everyday practices and using the economic crisis as a way to make conservation practical and sexy again.

Kiosks are one great place to see this happening:

Recycling "reverse vending" machines have been around since the mid 1980s, but usage is going way up and corporations are starting to consider the possibilities for advertising and point-of-sale promotions. Tomra, one of the larger manufacturers of recycling vending machines, has begun including videos (on built-in screens), coupons, and poster advertising on its recyclable sorting machines that are usually near supermarkets, sports stadiums, and college campuses. These kiosks are becoming more and more ubiquitous (indeed, perhaps eventually replacing the corner mailbox as the iconic neighborhood item?) and advertisers are realizing that consumers are willing to spend more time in stores and at the vending machines if they have an interactive activity while they're sorting the empty soda and beer cans.

“Tomra’s RVMs provide an excellent opportunity for advertisers to associate themselves with a positive activity such as recycling, while at the same time increasing exposure for their products or services,” said Warren Stoll, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Tomra of North America. “This new program will increase store traffic and customer loyalty, contributing to a much-needed economic boost to stores throughout the country.”

Tomra claims that it collects more than 30 billion used beverage containers through its recycling machines, which is equivalent to approximately 3% of the world’s consumption. It also accounts for almost half the global revenue from recycling. Pretty impressive for something that could just be mistaken as a trash bin.

While amping up the kiosks with advertising and video is a great idea, let's hope that Tomra and its ilk continue to think broadly about applications. Rather than the ubiquitous (and often ugly) plastic recycling buckets in many locations, kiosks can be integrated into workplaces, parks, and municipal buildings, where self-service makes recycling easier. Aesthetically, they can enhance a space, offering bins with art all around the outside, such as this one designed by artist Russell Lord.

Environmental dimensions of kiosk development are not always visible: Steve Arel suggests that there are more ways that kiosks can develop a "green" technological face, such as using less metal and foam, recycling retired kiosks, using standby mode technology to reduce power use in idle times, and developing interactive modes that reduce paper use (emailing receipts, for example).

This would also work for kiosks that are associated with recycling smaller items -- such as batteries, cell phones, CDs/DVDs and printer cartridges. These kiosks are often in supermarkets, drug stores, and most often, electronics stores. While these are prime locations for in-store promotions, coupon offers, and product advertisements, it's often more effective to give each kiosk one overall message and design, drawing consumer attention to it as its own object. Marketing often tends to look at new sites as space to be filled, plastering every free inch rather than going for a single overarching pitch in one spot. If recycling kiosks are overburdened with too many disparate -- and unrelated -- product images, they will become part of the backdrop of endless advertisements.

Not all green initiatives need to be plastered right onto the kiosk itself: While Nokia Cell phone recycling kiosks in Indonesia have been very successful at generating green practices through the kiosks, they find that consumers still need to be educated about why this is a good idea. According to a Nokia spokesperson, "One of the main reasons why so few people recycle their mobile phones is because they simply don't know that it is possible to do so... up to 80 percent of any Nokia device is recyclable. Materials such as cobalt, nickel, copper, iron, aluminum, plastics, and even gold can be recovered. It can be reused to help make new products such as steel and other metal products, plastic cones, and in the case of precious metals like gold, into jewelry."

Promoting itself as a "green" company is one way to get consumers to think about the environmental aspects of their cell phones. Although it's not mentioned on the kiosk, one integral part of Nokia's recycling efforts is a program to donate a tree for every phone recycled. Sponsored by NEWtrees Initiative (a collaboration between Nokia, Equinox Publishing, and WWF Indonesia), Nokia has already pledged to plant 100,000 trees in Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The aim is to help reduce the annual haze that affects the region, and contribute to protecting and preserving the park.

As with all green initiatives, there's a healthy mixture of corporate responsibility and self promotion in creating technology and advertising that helps preserve the environment. Given the central role of recycling and education in so many kiosk applications, it's good for companies to keep their eyes on eco-conscious approaches in all aspects of the industry.

Virtual Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Best Looking Kiosk in the Store?

2009-04-27T09:19:00.000-05:00

When my daughters were little, they were already savvy computer users and cultural critics who were generally unimpressed with the Barbie website – except for one feature: you could design your own Barbie, complete with hair color, style, and clothing. They didn’t actually want one, but the ability to “try on” hair and makeup and styles online was compelling. In fact, when they were old enough to “graduate” to Sims, it always seemed like this was what they were doing – creating characters and adjusting their styles -- rather than setting the Sims up in a storyline.

In February, IBM introduced their latest approach to kiosks, which is, quite literally taking that old Barbie format off the home computer and re-vamping it to the in-store virtual shopping experience. Their new “Virtual Mirror” kiosk works from a digitally scanned photo and allows customers to select a variety of products – from hair coloring to makeup – and see how they would look on a virtual version of yourself.

H&M already has a version of this – a not-so-far-from-Sims-like Virtual Dressing room where you can check out how an outfit would look on a computerized image – with your face. The IBM version involves directed selling, though, suggesting more or similar products after the customer scans in barcodes of makeup and hair coloring that interests them. After a customer makes some choices, the image and results can be printed or emailed.

Virtual makeovers are nothing new, but the act of combining them with point-of-sale tailored encouragements to buy selected products is an intriguing – and potentially powerful – way of using the kiosk for greater customer segmentation. The EZface Virtual Mirror Application is the first generation of these products that has already debuted worldwide.

I think it’s worth considering this as an application that might be more effectively tailored as time goes on. It’s ironic that a kiosk designed to help women with makeovers is actually pretty unattractive – sure enough, this looks like an old IBM computer that went on a flat screen diet but is still wearing its yellow power tie from the 1980s. The interface is easy to use, but it doesn’t attract attention any more than those self-scanners at the ends of the aisle in Target.

Compare this to the prototype that Intel and Frog Design unveiled at a recent trade show – It was profiled in the New York Times, most likely since Frog is known for its innovative thinking about technology and machines beyond the box. Frog re-thinks the whole shape and functionality of the cash register, moving it closer to the online experience people have shopping at home. This version has two vertical screens that function as kiosk – the design is slick and engaging, a futuristic pinball machine shape. Smarter than your average cash register, it can pull up a customer’s purchase history with a flash of a store loyalty card. With that knowledge in hand, the kiosk can make point-of-sale suggestions and related products. According to Wired, “The goal is to combine the marketable social possibilities of shopping in the real world with the Web’s ability to up-sell.” To sweeten the deal, Intel has made it clear that the new smart registers are environmentally sound, using less wattage than its regular counterpart by incorporating energy-saving LCD screens and processors as well as a “sleep” mode when the salesperson is not around.

The point is that new kiosk technology has to do something better than what it replaces – and while the advantages of kiosks for point-of-sale marketing are pretty apparent, it’s important to keep in mind that design is not a by-product, but rather part of what makes some new technologies more engaging.

Getting Segmented Markets Right: Money Transfer Kiosks and Latino Customers

2009-03-12T23:59:00.000-05:00

As the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, Latinos are consumers to watch, as even Wal-Mart actively courts its Spanish-speaking customers. Market research firms are cuing up to explain this diverse population. But the terms “Latino” and “Hispanic” are catch-all categories, covering a wide range of peoples from more than fifteen countries with different generational, geographic, and cultural stories about how they shape the landscape of consumption in the United States. Many market firms use the rather crude metric of “acculturated “ to talk about the extent to which Latinos are absorbed into the general American culture rather than retaining practices from their countries of origin. Social scientists have been debating the nature of assimilation since the turn of the century, so it’s no surprise that market research still isn’t quite certain how to explain and explore the cultural dynamics of immigrant ethnic and racial groups.

However, from both the academic and marketing research, we can conclude that newer immigrant groups have unique issues with assimilation. Being bilingual and having familial ties to another country create interesting dual ties in a time when travel and communication between places is instantaneous and more accessible (at least for those with legal status).

The census demonstrates that at least 40% of US Latinos were born in another country. But hold your presumptions about what that means: the more affluent older Latinos embrace assimilation in language use, eschewing Hispanic media, yet retain traditions related to their cultural heritage. On the other hand, Spanish language and media are important to moderately acculturated young families who speak Spanish at home. Their kids, career, and conservative values are all important.

The global connection has also meant that companies outside of the US are often more adept at speaking to Latino consumers and that those consumers know how to find what they want via the internet. The top ten indexing sites for Hispanics are all outside the US. According to an interview with Mediapost:

Maria Lopez-Knowles, senior vice president at MRM/McCann Worldgroup, says "I would think that Hispanics do leave our borders to visit foreign sites. It's an opportunity for them to stay in touch with the activities of their homeland, catch up on national and local events and, in short, stay connected...The flattening of the world has made what was inaccessible, accessible. And it really speaks to the fact that it's not about 'either/or' anymore; it's about AND. You can be bilingual and bicultural, and straddle two worlds -- you don't have to pick one or the other."

The duality of that experience translates into use of technology. One area of growth in these complicated economic times are self-service money transfer kiosks. Positioned in cities with large Latino populations, the kiosks (pictured above) allow immigrants to send money to relatives at home via automated teller-type machines to bank branches and pickup centers in Latin America. Instead of filling out forms to transfer cash, consumers deposit their money into a machine. Fees start at $9.95 to send up to $1,000. That's comparable to rates at most transfer companies (which have not gone up significantly in the last few years despite news in 2007 that focused on complaints about fees at Western Union).

According to the Houston Chronicle, last year, immigrants, using banks and wire transfer services, sent $67.5 billion to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. A year earlier, remittances amounted to $66.5 billion, according to Inter-American Development Bank estimates.

Kiosk success will hinge upon the ability of companies to attract and maintain a segment of the Latino population who, so far for this service, tend to be middle to lower income, speak primarily Spanish, and are sometimes wary of technology. Local wire transfer services (like the one pictured above) tend to be neighborhood stores and offer a version of trust that's based on familiarity and cultural connection. Kiosks will have to demonstrate security and trust without that human connection.

One answer is good customer service. The parent company of the kiosks in question, Nexx, recently sweetened the deal: customers who utilize money transfer services through the self-service kiosks receive a five minute long-distance call for free, so they can call the recipient and notify them that the funds are on their way. Calif.-based Nexxo now has more than 180 kiosk sites across Texas (San Antonio, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, and Houston). In total, Nexxo currently boasts 650 kiosks handling 50,000 transactions a month in the heavily Latino states of California, Texas, and Arizona.

It’s hard to speculate on the future growth of wire transfers, given their dependence on a strong American dollar, a less hostile climate for immigrant workers, and the availability of work. Still, by emphasizing the security and trustworthiness of its technology, it seems likely that the kiosk will prevail as the best approach (even as wire transfer services continue to serve some segment of the population), just as ATMs dominate but bank tellers remain necessary. The kiosk allows greater consumer access, convenience, and autonomy, which, combined with a well aimed marketing campaign in multiple languages, may make the money transfer kiosk a vital new approach.

kiosk image: Nexxo.

LEGO Augmented Reality Kiosk

2009-01-29T10:57:00.004-05:00

Saw this on DSInsights and was very impressed. Hold a box of LEGOs up to the kiosk, and the screen will show you what's inside.

It's kind of like a simulated X-ray machine just for the product. Of course, it also shows the models that can be built from the particular LEGO set, and probably has a few other functions as well.

I know I'd certainly have a hard time pulling myself away without holding every single box up to the machine :)

Stop & Shop scans its way into future

2009-01-01T14:56:00.001-05:00

According to The Hour, Stop and Shop's Main Avenue location in Norwalk, CT is one of the first to demonstrate new self-scanning technology that allows shoppers to (at their option) use a hand-held scanner while they shop. When they're finished shopping, customers simply go to a kiosk to complete their transaction. The system is touted as a time-saver for shoppers (who don't need to wait on line to pay), and could have some interesting implications for customer satisfaction (since checkout aisles typically score the lowest on these surveys, unsurprisingly).

In addition to getting customers to use the devices and handling the in-store technical support issues that might arise, combatting shoplifting is another tough area that Stop & Shop has to address during this test. As the article notes, "In addition to other security measures, the system will select random orders for review. 'That's one of the most common questions we get: How do you know (customers are being honest),' [Steve Young, senior project manager for self-service technology at Stop and Shop] said. 'There's security built into the system and we do random checks. You always have a balance of convenience of security. It's something we consider when we develop these technologies.'"

Tags: kiosks, self-service, self check-out

Urban Bike Kiosks: A Perfect Blend of Technology and Sustainability

2008-11-25T08:43:00.000-05:00

At a time when it's tough to get anyone to spend on new projects, perhaps the new administration's focus on economic growth through sustainable energy and infrastructure support will encourage more cities to invest in the growing bike kiosk programs that are popping up across the globe. Just recently, AsiaOne Travel reported that Singapore is poised to adopt bicycle rental kiosks similar to the ones used in Paris. The kiosks are spread across the city, usually near bus and train stations and downtown hubs.

In Paris, a system called Velib, which was begun over a year ago, has been so wildly successful that the city needs to increase its supply of bikes. Demand is great: so far there are about 20,600 bicycles spread over 1,450 self-service rental kiosks.   A cyclist may pick up a bike from one kiosk and drop it off at another for subscription fees ranging from 1 euro (US$1.35) for a day to 29 euros for a year. Use of the bike is free for 30 minutes at a time, after which charges are imposed.

Here in the United States, Washington DC became the first American city to use the bike dispenser kiosks (the fancier version is pictured above). While other American cities are seen as more “bike friendly,” with wide lanes on major thoroughfares, better safety regulations, and well, just generally more commuters who use bikes, DC hopes this new program will help it catch up. Not that it’s a competition, but cities with “greener” reputations (like Portland, OR) are looking to Washington to see how the kiosk-run program works. The SmartBike kiosks, which were created by outdoor advertiser Clear Channel Communications Inc. and deployed by the Washington, D.C., District Department of Transportation, allows people to rent a bike with the swipe of a membership or credit card. Clear Channel provides Washington with the kiosks in exchange for the right to advertise in certain public areas, such as on bus shelters. According to ClearChannel’s spokesperson, the business model pays for all of the capital and the ongoing operating expense for the bike sharing program, which offers more long term funding than federal grants.

Although Clear Channel was one of the companies proposing kiosks for Portland, right now the ambitious plan for a 500-fleet set of bikes and kiosks is on hold while the city’s officials debate feasibility issues.

Meanwhile, the D.C. Transportation Department has been slowly striping more bike lanes through the city's streets. Currently there are about 25 miles designated for bikes; an additional 11 miles are in the works this year (which is only a small swath of roadway compared to many other cities). Washington’s program also has some advantages in terms of theft prevention – the Velib program in Paris has lost over 3,000 bikes so far (they have even turned up in Australia, according to some reports). People in Singapore are highly skeptical that the system will work there, given the already huge rate of bike theft and the general lack of police enforcement. In comparison, the DC bikes have a radio frequency device that allows them to be tracked. The advantage of kiosk use is also clear here: people who don’t return bikes can be charged via their credit cards.

Now seems to be the right time to promote programs like this, a perfect blend of high technology, sustainable environmental programs, and infrastructural support. And, well, cool bikes in futuristic-looking kiosks. How much more forward thinking can we get?

Be all that you can be (virtually)

2008-09-04T07:38:00.000-05:00

The American Defense Industry has put a multi-platform digital environment in a retail setting. Instead of trying to up-sell customers to get a few more dollars out of their wallets, though, these terminals are designed to sell a career choice. The Army has been making good use of digital technology for many years, funding research and development for a wide variety of products. Now, the ordinary consumer gets a chance to experiment with military technology in a retail setting, with last week’s grand opening of the Army Experience Center at Philadelphia’s Franklin Mills Mall.

This environment proves interesting not only for its amazing array of technology, but for the soft sell it represents, since military personnel who staff the center are not technically recruiting, but rather telling all visitors "the Army story." Most of the promotional news reporting about the Center has been quick to point out that, even with current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army is meeting its current goals for recruits. At the same time, the Center is located in a high traffic mall close to a large urban population, an ideal customer base for both public education and potential enlistees.

The actual space is an interesting combination of virtual video gone wild and lifestyle promotion. The lounge serves food and drinks (free to anyone who registers) and has a digital display of army life. Touch screen videos allow potential recruits to find military bases across the globe, research potential careers with the Army, and learn about advanced training in multimedia, robotics, and piloting. The Tactical Ops Center looks like a movie set, with nine large screen displays for global tracking, computer-simulated missile operation, and other virtual training opportunities. If all that seems too tame for you, there’s a whole room of Black Hawk, Apache helicopter, and Humvee simulators. To prove that today’s youth are not wasting their time on video games, there’s a sci-fi inspired theater arena for Xbox and PC games like Warcraft, Madden’s NFL, and Ghost Recon. Although gaming skills start early in our culture, this room is limited to those 13 and older.

If the whole Army experience-in-a-mall isn't enough one its own, you can wind your way to Sears and pick up your very own official Army clothing (proceeds go to support programs for the troops) so that your simulated helicopter runs will feel even more authentic.

The entire site is more than three times the size of a basketball court, filled with digital and interactive kiosks. The sleek touch screen pillars look a bit too much like vintage Science Museum fare, the kind where you learn about protozoa and the last days of dinosaurs (Why make people stand at a kiosk when they don’t have to?), but the overall experience is sleek and inviting. The lounge has the feel of an airport club, with Army Life videos playing rather than CNN.

Overall, it’s an interesting approach to retail-as-education through state-of-the-art digital technology. If you’re in the Philadelphia area, it’s worth a stop just to see what’s possible with a large budget and no monthly sales quota. Be all that you can be, indeed!

Pictures make Olympic kiosks worth a thousand words

2008-08-21T06:08:00.001-05:00

Check out Kodak's Olympic Kiosks and... Richard Mackson's racing photos.

We hear a lot about how blogs have democratized writing, making information and communication more accessible to both the writer and readers, but it’s also true that blogs and other internet features have had a substantial influence on photographic images, too. People share their output on sites like Flickr, add new photos to their blogs, and link to their favorite photos from another site. Images that once were shared with a few friends are now all over the world. Photojournalists are no longer the only ones recording events for posterity.

The Olympics are a treasure trove of photographic moments: the images are more powerful than any commentary or article. Kodak has taken great advantage of the photo-happy opportunity by sponsoring bloggers who post new images every day. In Bejing at the Olympic site the Kodak building is loaded with kiosks where visitors can learn more about how to develop or download the images they’ve just taken. Young sales staff in white outfits assist customers with glee.

The bloggers are posting amazing images of the games and of their sightseeing in China, along with occasional tidbits about how to get the best shot. Richard Mackson’s comments on his photos make you think anyone can be a Sports Illustrated quality photographer with just a little closer attention to shutter speed and composition. Looking through his album you won’t believe one person could have attended that many different events in such a short period of time. After viewing his bicycle racing photos, I went back to NBC and found earlier coverage of that event so I could catch up with the stories Mackson had covered in still photographs. My favorite part is their promotion of an Olympic Picture of the Day, which ends up on a digital sign in Times Square as well as being showcased by mainstream media.

So what does Kodak stand to gain from all this? The best form of marketing there is, according to Media Post:

There are no plans to use the photos in marketing or advertising campaigns, but pictures and blog posts drive awareness to other Kodak online activities, such as an exclusive Kodak Olympic pin promotion that consumers can find in the online store… Since the start of the Games, Kodak's Web site--including the blog-- has experienced a spike in traffic, but Hoehn says becoming eyes and ears of Olympic fans really means "connecting with our customers in a unique way and demonstrating our innovative products and services."

The integration of web-based activities, local kiosks, and promotion on digital signs is the best way to get Kodak's name back into households. With all the expectations placed on the Olympics, in terms of commercialism, sports, and politics (even though, of course, the Olympics are supposed to be free of two of those things), it’s great to see a corporation like Kodak developing good will while improving its brand image.

Premier Election Solutions (Diebold) blames voting kiosk problems on antivirus software

2008-08-15T09:41:00.001-05:00

I think this pretty much says it all...

Best Buy kiosks coming to airports

2008-08-12T21:56:00.001-05:00

Talk about brand extension.... This interesting article on Yahoo! Tech notes that bricks-and-mortar consumer electronics retailer Best Buy will be rolling out several self-service kiosks (vending machines would be a better description, actually) to major airports. So far, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and San Francisco all have the devices, and supposedly more are on the way.

The giant gadgets dispense much smaller gadgets (think PSPs, digital cameras, MP3 players and assorted cables), which consumers can select using a touchscreen system that provides product information and pricing. The swipe of a credit card can reunite business traveler with long-lost power cords, for example, or perhaps give little Sally an iPod to play with on the long flight home.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, vending machines

Self-service kiosk software development

2008-08-01T07:37:00.001-05:00

That was posted as a comment in response to the New York Times's David Pogue's rant about Delta's self check-in kiosks:

You come up, you swipe your credit card. That alone ought to tell the kiosk who you are, and it should therefore know what flight you’re checking in for.
But no, it plays dumb. It asks you to key in your destination. So you type in “SAN” for San Francisco. And it asks you: San Francisco, San Diego, or San Juan? Oh, I don’t know–how about THE ONE YOU HAVE A RESERVATION ON!?
(Yes, yes, I know–you might have more than one reservation on Delta. But come on. Let’s say you have flights today at 3 pm, tomorrow at 5 pm, and next Friday at 8 pm. As you swipe your credit card, today, at 1:30 pm, does it really think you’re checking in for anything but the first one?)
But O.K. You tap San Francisco. And now–I kid you not–it wants to know what time of day the flight departs!
Are you kidding me? It doesn’t know the airline’s own flight time? Come on–it already knows what flight I’m on, so what’s the point of this exercise? For God’s sake, just check me in!
Whenever I encounter badly designed software like this, I stand there, slack-jawed, mind boggling, and wonder what on earth the designers were *thinking.* Not, obviously, about elegance, intelligence and simplicity. (My emphasis added)

I'm sure we've all found ourselves in this situation. Clients come in, asking to benefit from our years of experience in the industry. Using that accumulated knowledge, we proceed to work on a design that incorporates the necessary functionality, provides a suitable level of accessibility, and meets the client's business objectives. But because it isn't precisely what the client had in mind, it's not what they ultimately want or feel satisfied with. Their "gut instinct", or whatever you might prefer to call it, gets the better of their reasoning minds. Whether it's a startup in a garage or a Fortune 500 company makes no difference, this phenomenon exists everywhere. In the end, it comes down to sticking to your guns and perhaps losing the account (or your job), or else giving in and winning the contract. You can guess which the Delta kiosk's designers did.

Tags: kiosk, self service, software

The next POPAI Digital Signage 101 webinar is coming up on August 7th

2008-07-31T12:52:00.001-05:00

This is pretty much a cut-and-paste from the announcement two months ago, and admittedly this post probably won't be appropriate for 90% of the audience of this blog, considering that I know lots of you are already experts on all things digital signage.

However, if you have a client, partner or other interested party that's starting to explore the exciting world of digital out-of-home media, POPAI's holding another "Digital Signage 101" webinar on August 7th.

Specifically designed to help newcomers see past the industry hype and focus on the projects, business cases and best practices that have been successful in the real world, POPAI's Introduction to Digital Signage webinar is a great way to spend an hour of your time -- and only $50 -- to jump-start your understanding of what works and what doesn't in the digital signage world.

Dale Smith at Peerless will be leading the way, covering topics including:

An introduction to the digital signage market with some basic market history and analysis,
A look at some of the most common usage scenarios,
An explanation of the components used in typical digital signage networks,
A discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of using digital signage, and
An examination of some of the most common pitfalls and problems that occur, and ways to avoid them in the first place.

So please join us on Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 1:00pm EDT

Tags: digital signage

Cybercafe software maker raises $5 Million from Sequoia

2008-07-02T13:33:00.001-05:00

Remember cybercafes? I bet you thought they were all dead and buried, didn't you? Well, if you live in an industrialized nation, that's mostly true (though you can still find some pretty busy ones in major cities and airports). However, if you live in a developing nation, the cybercafe might well represent your link to the Internet and the outside world. And since there are literally billions of people living in such places, there are still companies like Ideacts who are writing software to make the experience as enjoyable for the customer and as profitable for the cafe owner as possible. Thus, it's not too surprising that the Mumbai-based company was able to pick up the cash from software-savvy Sequoia Capital India, as this article notes:

Ideacts has a desktop interface application called Clinck which is targeted at cybercafe users, providing shortcuts to internet browsers, messengers, search, news, entertainment and online storage, as well as advertisements from various companies.
Ideacts has tied up with cybercafes (especially white labeled ones, and not the Sifys or Reliance WebWorlds) and the latter will be paid for installing the Clinck application on the desktops. It’s an offline way to reach out to the cybercafe users. Ideacts will make money from advertisements. Some of the companies advertising with Ideacts are ICICI Bank, Yahoo, Naukri, Radio Mirchi, Dell, MSN, White Mischief and Makemytrip.
Rudrajeet Desai said the company’s focus is white-labeled cybercafes: “We pay these cybercafes on a monthly basis, which vary according to their size. At present, we have this arrangement with 625 cybercafes, which come to more than 5,000 computers.” Desai further said that they plan expand to around 3,000-3,500 cybercafes.

Don't expect to see their kit in the US or Western Europe anytime soon, but if you have a stopover in Mumbai on your way to Bangalore and you decide to pop in and check your email, perhaps you'll come across it.

Tags: kiosks, cybercafes

60 Kaiser Permanente clinics to deploy self-service kiosks for check-in and payment

2008-07-02T13:24:00.001-05:00

As this press release notes, "Kaiser Permanente deployed its first KP Self-Service Kiosk to optimize the patient check-in and payment experience in an innovative project that will include over 60 medical clinics in Southern California. This is one of the largest pilot kiosk projects undertaken by any U.S. healthcare organization, and it is another example of Kaiser Permanente's market-leading efforts in electronic integration."

If you haven't run into them before, Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation's biggest integrated health plans, and it's a non-profit organization to boot. Consequently, they've tried all sorts of things over the years to help keep their overhead down and run efficiently as possible. Given the success of check-in kiosks in airlines, company executives no doubt realized both the cost savings and gains in efficiency possible by adopting a similar approach in-house. Using the devices to handle payments might be a bit more tricky, and will likely have a slower adoption. After all, people are used to getting money out of kiosks (in the form of ATMs, of course), but they might be more uncertain when it comes to putting money in.

Tags: kiosks, self-service

"What Not to Wear" for digital technology, kiosks, and interactive signs

2008-06-24T19:54:00.002-05:00

What makes someone qualified to give advice about anything? Experience and knowledge.

My main claim as an analyst (aside from the PhD, which only authorizes me in a narrow scope of the social sciences) is that I read a lot. I mean, a lot, and always in a wide range of sources, from academic books to what’s on the New York Times best seller list to magazines, web sites, promotional materials, archival matter (right now I’m working on advice columns in African American papers), and yes, even a few blogs.

One of the few blogs I look at every day is Steve Portigal’s All This Chitta Chatta. Steve has experience and knowledge, but he’s also got an amazing eye, a true sense of the visual landscape, be it urban or rural, Southeast Asian or suburban America. His photographs tell you more than most feature length magazine articles. In terms of marketing and design, developing an acute visual eye is a critical tool, especially for folks in the digital signage and digital media industries. What distinguishes one product from another is often determined in a two-second glance.

One continuing point of interest for Steve is the notion of post-design, fixing a product by adding something exterior to it to explain or enhance its original use. Sometimes people adapt to a new technology (I'm definitely getting used to the self-checkout at the supermarket). Sometimes the technology has to adapt to people. Often designers develop ways of solving an environmental problem – a door handle, a checkout line, a digital menu – and then some aspect of the finished product doesn’t work out as planned after taking it "live." Post-design is when the user – or designer – has to adapt what exists to the realities of how people think and move through the world. Think about how many of us would crash into doors without the ubiquitous “push” or “pull” signs. My favorite example is of a toilet flusher that requires a posted explanation of how it works.

In the world of kiosks and digital technology we’ve all seen versions of this: the most common is the taped-over swipe slot on a point-of-sale checkout, telling customers to hand their credit card to the clerk rather than swipe it themselves (even though the machine is designed for that!). People with long fingernails, people who don't see or use the stylus, and people with, well, slippery fingers, often complain about different aspects of touchscreen technology. And then, of course, there's the smart clerk who discovered that the wax paper used for picking up bagels and doughnuts works great on credit cards with hard-to-read swipe stripes. These aren't all problems that can be fixed by design, but they do present interesting issues to consider.

This week Steve highlighted a new version of post-design: a Chili’s interactive menu with touch-screen technology has a static sign added to explain to the customer exactly how to use the touch screen. I wonder if the designers saw the separate sign as temporary, until customers adapt to using the digital menu more readily. Or, perhaps, it was too costly to integrate the new directions into the existing terminal.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with having to develop designs post-implementation, it strikes me that the kiosk and digital signage industry needs its own version of “What Not to Wear” – like the do’s and don’ts fashion column that shows real people in real outfits walking down the street, looking extremely sharp or completely off, developers and designers in new technologies need to share what they see in terms of real life usage. While we can laugh at the truly ugly adaptations, it's also important for such a quickly changing industry to develop an archive of design development.

Feel free to send me your examples: photos preferred, of course.

For Alaska Airlines, self-service = big savings + better customer experience

2008-06-23T19:43:00.001-05:00

It's rare that businesses really come across a true win-win situation. Normally, when people say win-win, it usually means something more akin to "I win, you don't lose... too much." But Alaska Airlines, in a recent bid to update their terminals to improve customer flow, lessen wait times and congestion, and reduce complaints, has figured out how to do it. (Note: this isn't the first time we've written about their experiments). According to this article at Fast Company, the company has used a combination of traffic control and self-service systems to, "save almost $8 million a year on the [newly-renovated] Seattle terminal if it converts customers the way it has in Anchorage. And the makeover cost just $28 million. Thanks to the fast flow of traffic, trained employees, and eye towards efficiency, "seventy-three percent of Alaska's Anchorage passengers now check in using kiosks or the Web, compared with just 50% across the airline industry." The overall result of this?

During [the author's] two hours of observation in Seattle, an Alaska agent processed 46 passengers, while her counterpart at United managed just 22. United's agents lose precious time hauling bags and walking the length of the ticket counter to reach customers. Alaska agents stand at a station with belts on each side, assisting one passenger while a second traveler places luggage on the free belt. With just a slight turn, the agent can assist the next customer. "We considered having three belts," [Ed White, Alaska's VP of corporate real estate] says. "But then the agent has to take a step. That's wasted time."

We know that self-service alone, even when modestly implemented, has helped airlines to streamline their operations and improve efficiency. However, Alaska shows us how building self-service into the corporation, both figuratively and literally, can boost productivity, lower costs and improve customer satisfaction all at once.

Tags: self service, self check-in, kiosks

HP launches new touch-screen desktops

2008-06-17T21:27:00.001-05:00

As reported in Advertising Age, of all places, HP is getting serious about the touchscreen terminal market, if their latest offerings are any indication. While many other manufacturers have been playing in this space for a while, HP's new line of computers is... well, I'll just say it... sexy -- if you could ever call a touchscreen computer sexy, anyway.

Interestingly, while Dell, IBM and others have always pointed their touchscreen offerings squarely at the business market, HP's line is definitely designed for consumers. I'm not entirely sure how or why they think adding a touchscreen to a desktop PC is going to empower consumers to work faster, smarter, or just have more fun, but then I'm not a consumer product marketing specialist, so perhaps the obvious is just eluding me right now.

Tags: kiosks, touch screen, touchscreen

Introduction to digital signage webinar coming up on June 12th

2008-06-09T13:53:00.001-05:00

There's been a lot of talk lately about digital signage, and specifically, treating the store as a new medium for communicating everything from product advertisements to late-breaking news and important information. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, there's no doubt that the industry is growing at a fast clip, and a lot of retailers, brands and marketing agencies are clamoring to learn more about its efficacy as a marketing medium.

While there are a lot of proclaimed "experts" in the field, POPAI, the global organization for Marketing at Retail, has decided to start holding bi-monthly "Introduction to Digital Signage" webinars to get more of their members -- as well as interested non-members -- properly oriented in this complex and evolving field. The first of these webinars is coming up this week - Thursday, June 12, at 1PM EDT.

If you're already an expert in the field of digital signage, this webinar isn't for you. But if you're just starting out in the industry, or if you have a client or partner that is, it will give you an excellent introduction to the exciting world of digital out-of-home media.

Specifically designed to help newcomers see past the industry hype and focus on the projects, business cases and best practices that have been successful in the real world, POPAI's Introduction to Digital Signage webinar is a great way to spend an hour of your time -- and only $50 -- to jump-start your understanding of what works and what doesn't in the digital signage world.

The topics we'll cover include:

An introduction to the digital signage market with some basic market history and analysis,
A look at some of the most common usage scenarios,
An explanation of the components used in typical digital signage networks,
A discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of using digital signage, and
An examination of some of the most common pitfalls and problems that occur, and ways to avoid them in the first place.

So please join us on Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 1:00pm EDT

If you're interested, you can click here to sign up now! You have to sign up by the end of the day on Wednesday the 11th in order to participate, so don't wait too long if you want to check it out.

Tags: digital signage

Fixing your bathroom sink...with your cellphone

2008-06-03T06:14:00.001-05:00

The newest digital technologies face one enormous non-technological hurdle: getting ordinary people to use them.

According to mobile content researcher M:Metrics, however, only 6% of U.S. cell phone subscribers used their device to watch a video recently. At the same time, advertising expenditures on mobile ads are projected to be in the billions this year. Right now most marketers are using text ads, with web and video placements in development. Not surprisingly, iPhone owners outpaced all other cell phone users in their downloading and web searching by a huge margin.

But Home Depot is counting on two developments to move video use on mobile devices into everyday experience. First, new technologies make it easier for users to search for, watch, and share, and save mobile videos in close to real time, even going so far as to store playlists on your device.

The second development is smart marketing: Home Depot has developed a series of “how to” videos that are accessible in store and easily downloadable to cell phones. Imagine getting information from a helpful clerk about installing that cool Indonesian-looking ceiling fan, only to get home and get involved in other things like making dinner, driving to a soccer game, and watching the Stanley Cup Finals. By the time you finally get started on that ceiling fan, you wish you’d taken your memory-enhancing supplements that morning. But now, while you were in the store you could have entered an SMS short code into your cell phone and downloaded the instructional video. Back home, you can watch the video and remember to put the mounting plate in before you attach the rotor blades.

What’s great about Home Depot’s strategy is that it offers a necessary and ordinary application for mobile device use. It may be a while before I’m downloading and watching television shows on my iPhone (after all, someone needs to buy me one first) – but I’d get the instructional videos immediately. That's the theory, at least, and Avot Media and Home Depot are already trying out instructional videos downloaded to your cell phone to help with the installation of a new line of ceiling fans.

I don’t have any marketing data on this, but personally, this approach to in-store media is a lot more appealing than video cooking demonstrations in supermarkets. The current formats still seem like 1950s-era Home Ec movies rather than Emeril or even Julia, though I admit I'm biased by my "cooking is an art form" mentality.

On the other hand, my home repair skills are not nearly as eclectic, innovative, or confident as my cooking, so I think I’ll do what the instructions tell me for now. And my favorite part? If I need to, I can always go back and take another quick look on my cell phone. One of our first home-improvement projects ever was putting up a shed from a kit. It came with a video, which we popped into the VCR (yes, that long ago), watched, and then promptly forgot as we mounted the window upside down and on the wrong wall. Perhaps we might have avoided these mistakes if there could have been a quick check on the cell phone video.

Tags: self service, mobile, video

Another thing that keeps me up at night...

2008-05-26T09:05:00.001-05:00

So I've been a little remiss on posting lately, but I promise I have a really good reason. I'm not normally inclined to post personal stuff on these blogs, but a lot of you folks already knew that my wife and I were expecting our first baby sometime around now. Last week, he decided to show himself to the world. Say hello to baby Liam:

The surprised look on his face is because I was telling him about the digital signage industry at the time -- the number of overlapping vendors, the lack of standards or formal metrics, the continual volume of hype fed into the channel. But fear not, a solution is at hand: he promises to start working on the problem as soon as he learns what his fingers are for.

Thanks for your patience, folks. Things on the blogs should get back to normal in a few weeks :)

- Bill

Giant's easySHOP gives self-checkout a new meaning

2008-05-05T14:00:00.001-05:00

In what might be described as an evolution of the price-check kiosk, Giant Super Food Stores is testing out a new system called easySHOP which allows customers to bypass checkout lines altogether by scanning and bagging items as they pick them up in the aisles. As this article on Shopper Culture notes, the system

"lets people scan and bag items as they shop throughout the store, then pay at a self-service check-out kiosk and leave. In other words, groceries go into your cart from the shelves and don’t leave until you get to your car.

"easySHOP requires Giant’s BONUSCARD loyalty card. The system aims to empower customers by putting more control in their hands. Further, the perception is that scanning one’s own groceries is faster than having them scanned in a check-out line. Finally, the scanner lets people keep a rolling tally of their bill, helping them stay within their budget."

As self-checkout lanes have gotten only a mixed review so far, this program could potentially offer time savings that make early glitches and an unnatural-seeming change to shopping behavior worthwhile.

Tags: self-checkout, self-service, easySHOP

Eat your words. Digitally, that is.

2008-04-18T08:35:00.000-05:00

How far should self-service electronic checkout go? Most people I talk to complain about self check registers at the supermarket. I’m often in agreement. My first suggestion: give these machines a better voice! IBM, NCR, other self checkout manufacturers, why not have George Clooney asking me how many mangoes are in the bag? Another suggestion: often, when the conveyor belt fills up slightly the faceless voice instructs you to stop scanning items and fill your bags. In these cases, give us more than two seconds to actually get it done before asking "If you are done scanning items, please pay!" The machine may be super-human, but it takes me a little while to get my items bagged.

Now, I know what you’re saying: Annie, it's a computer voice. You can ignore it. But the technology itself is not at fault here. It's being rushed and herded needlessly that ruins the retail experience, at the command of its manufacturers, probably at the request of their customers. These companies might do well to remember the difference between efficiency for consumers’ convenience and efficiency for their profit, though.

Because I’m a social scientist at heart, I turn my supermarket trips into research opportunities. Every time I’ve observed the self-checkouts, I see at least two flashing help lights out of five open registers, with customers waiting for the floor manager to key in a missed product code. At the same time, I also see workers hovering, often at the end of the conveyor belt, waiting to help bag or get carts. What does this tells us? Supermarket executives have yet to figure out how real and digital workers fit together.

Here’s an example: It’s a quiet Tuesday morning in my local supermarket: just me and the senior citizen crowd (my favorite informal market research group -- understudied and gregarious, what more could you ask for?) There were a lot of supermarket workers standing around. I hate having to continually explain my bag preference (reusable supermarket bags and as few store bags as possible), so I choose the self -service checkout. So what happens? I’ve got two items scanned, haven’t even been pestered by the digital voice yet, and a supermarket worker arrives and begins bagging my groceries in what I have now come to call “Pittsburgh Style” – one item per plastic bag, no matter how small. So much for my reduced carbon footprint.

Most people adapt to and accept self-service kiosks. ATMs are a prime example. The only time I need a bank teller is when I have a transaction that’s too complex for the ATM. And amazingly, bank tellers are often some of the nicest and most helpful service employees in the pantheon of service economy personnel. When I go into the bank, I truly want their help. But most of the time, self-service banking is a minimally involved task. (You put in the card, you get money, you check your balance, or, if you’re lucky, you make a deposit.)

Checking out at the grocery is an entirely different story. As in many retail contexts, people have more complex needs. I am amazed at the array of vegetable and fruit choices displayed on the monitor – even so, this is, indeed, where most people get waylaid on the road to self service self sufficiency. We know what we’re buying – but does the machine categorize it in any way remotely similar to our lexicon of edible greens? Are those JUMBO navel oranges or MEDIUM ones? Are green beans under G for green or B for beans?

A new market survey shows that consumers are so accustomed to banking through ATMs that they’re frustrated when not available. Now, take this survey with a grain of self-serving self-service salt (because the survey’s sponsor was NCS, who makes the systems.) Another research note: keep in mind that the survey was done on-line, which means the sample is already skewed in the direction of technology-capable individuals. None of my informal 70 – 80 year old market research group friends are comfortable with ATMs. Indeed, some of them were quite adept at online banking, but they limited their use of ATMs, citing concerns about safety and ability to follow directions. With a large portion of the American population heading into the AARP demographic, digital technology companies should design self-service interfaces in secure environments that give older people more time, offers better readability, and provides service options with greater clarity.

Having read this, I wonder when (or if) people will come to regard self checkout systems as a supermarket necessity, as ATMs have become to banks. I know we're not there yet. The grocers, it seems, are having a hard time determining when consumers want flesh and blood help as a side dish or a main course.

Tags: self-service, kiosks, self checkout

DVDPlay introduces loyalty program

2008-04-17T08:25:00.001-05:00

So you've probably realized by now that I'm pretty bullish on Redbox and their competition, who have stumbled upon a new and different way to let people rent movies. While Redbox makes the bulk of the news (and consequently gets most of the coverage over here), competitor DVDPlay has introduced some news-worthy functionality that Evan at StorefrontBacktalk picked up yesterday. Specifically, the kiosk introduces a rent-10-get-one-free loyalty program that simply uses a renter's email address to keep track of the number of movies rented.

Rental movies are an affordable luxury, what with today's high prices keeping more people at home more often than before, so fostering loyalty to a particular mechanism makes a lot of sense. These kiosks face intense competition from Blockbuster and their kin (however lame they may currently appear), Netflix, cable and satellite VOD, video over the Internet from services like Apple's iTV and Amazon's Unbox, and, of course, the bevy of other DVD rental kiosks out there. Encouraging loyal might prove to be a boon for DVDPlay while providing genuine value to customers. And, of course, if they're harvesting user rental histories, it probably won't be long until we see further personalization features like Netflix's suggested rental lists.

Tags: self-service, kiosks

Should Blockbuster buy Redbox?

2008-04-14T09:47:00.001-05:00

That's the question that NewTeeVee's Chris Albrecht asks in a recent post at the site's blog. While Blockbuster clearly needs to do something to avoid getting further eviscerated by Netflix and a host of others, their current plan to build a set-top box and allow direct download video rentals might not be the right course to take at this point. After all, as Albrecht notes, "getting into the hardware game will be an expensive endeavor, especially in an increasingly crowded field already packed with big names like Apple, TiVo, Xbox 360, Vudu and soon the Netflix LG box."

Instead of going that route, what about picking up Redbox, whose self-service kiosks are already deployed to over 6,800 sites across the US? He makes a pretty interesting case for the plan:

Going out into the real world to download something may seem like an unnecessary step, but it’s actually more of a transitional one because it combines elements people are already familiar with.

First, people still go to video stores. In adding these kiosks to their real-world locations, Blockbuster would bridge the the familiar experience of browsing the aisles for a movie with the more unfamiliar one of digital delivery.

Second, by using existing set-top services like TiVo, people wouldn’t feel like they have to buy a new device, or worry about buying one that will die quickly (read: HD DVD).

Finally, by leveraging the existing Redbox kiosks in non-video locations like grocery stores, Blockbuster could take advantage of impulse renting. People are already used to the idea of DVDs being sold in supermarkets, this would nudge them a little further and into downloads.

I don't think a lot of marketers realize just how difficult it is to break people of their habits. I also get the feeling that too many of them don't fully understand that when people are out shopping for one thing -- say shampoo or cereal -- they're primed to be on the lookout for other things, even other unrelated things, hence the appeal of Redbox's kiosks in all sorts of different retail stores. This is just my personal opinion, but Blockbuster buying Redbox makes a lot more sense than trying to launch a VOD product or buy Circuit City, which was their new (yet definitely not improved) plan as of this morning.

Tags: kiosks, redbox, blockbuster

Touch screen voting is stupidly expensive

2008-04-07T10:47:00.001-05:00

It's not often that I would call The Inquirer -- the tech industry's closest thing to a tabloid newspaper -- a source of insightful and well-balanced opinion, but their article today about the costs of touchscreen voting just hit too close to my own heart to ignore. Citing a study (pdf) conducted by the Maryland voting integrity group Save Our Votes, they note that:

The voting machines themselves cost about $3,000 apiece.
Maryland's counties took out $67 million in loans to buy those machines and will be paying them through 2014, despite the fact the kiosks will be out of use by 2010.
By the end of this election year Maryland will have spent over $97.5 million on the voting machines it's planning to scrap.
Beyond the cost of the machines, the state will have paid Diebold at least $44 million for operating, maintaining and storing the actual machines as well as programming, testing, and transportation services to and from precincts, as well as training poll workers and performing "voter outreach" to promote their use among the electorate.

In all, "SaveOur Votes analysed the cost of touch screen electronic voting machines in those counties. In most of the counties their average costs per voter increased 179 per cent. At least one county saw its costs per voter increase 866 per cent, from a total cost of about $22,000 in 2001 to $266,000 in 2007."

Now I know that governments have a habit of making bad decisions and paying too much for them, but an 866% increase for worse performance is pretty stunning even for them. Throw in the fact that every known e-voting platform has (or can be) hacked, and I'd say this is perhaps the most ill-fated electronic governance project ever. Period.

Tags: electronic voting, kiosks, self-service

Point of Sale, with an emphasis on point

2008-03-31T15:25:00.000-05:00

I read an article in RetailWire that took me back to my first job out of college. A very optimistic man hired me as an assistant business manager for a million dollar sports and day camp. I quickly mastered and streamlined almost every feature of the job, except for one thing that caused my customers and myself endless grief: our invoice forms. Neither our paper supplier nor the Harvard MBA above me could create a single, adaptable template for all of our transactions, and on the day I left, I piled my desk with boxes full of the ten different invoice formats that we used.

While every service worker on the front lines has their horror story, customers also have their own version: checkout purgatory. I’m working on some ethnographic research (translate: hanging out and watching at the local grocery) about how workers and customers fair with newly automated supermarket registers. Here’s what I’ve learned so far: anyone who buys non-iceberg lettuce eventually has to hit the Help button. Checkout clerks develop informal systems of either perpetually hovering over or completely ignoring those flummoxed by the self-service lanes. I’m waiting for the day that road rage morphs over into the checkout line – and with the advent of self-checkout, I believe the moment is nigh.

Efficiency is a complicated goal. Stores like it because it increases sales and decreases waste. Consumers like it because they believe it leaves them more time for other pursuits. But technology can’t function efficiently unless both servers and customers are getting what they need. I’m originally from New York, so I’m from a tribe of people who historically rank among the most impatient ever patented. I want my stuff yesterday. But even I would rather have a knowledgeable person waiting on me than one who rushes me into buying things I don’t need. The only thing worse than a New Yorker in a hurry is a New Yorker who has to make a return.

Returns, exchanges, and special orders are often their own brand of nightmare. I alternate between pity for the poor retail manager who has to sort these out and rage at the stupidity of systems that funnel problems through the same line as people with a single pair of socks. Stores that carry a wide range of merchandise seem to struggle with this much more than, say, your friendly neighborhood mega bookstore that smartly has its Help kiosk in the dead center of the store, visible from the front door, and can link to their online ordering in seconds.

Some analysts would have you believe that reducing the need for smart staff is a laudable goal –- especially since worker efficiency is and always will be a complicated variable. I’m impressed that companies might trust me enough to return my own incorrectly sized shoes to the rack with a PIN device set up to monitor inventory. But I’m still going to wait for the sales associate who knows where the right size shoes might be or what alternatives the store might have or whether they even look good on me. Bottom line: digital technology and a good retail sales force should also be synchronized rather than pitted against each other. No matter how customer-centric a POS system is, the service person who knows your needs will always be more than peripheral.

Tags: self-service, customer experience, POS

Reactrix to add transaction capabilities

2008-03-20T07:55:00.001-05:00

As cool as a Reactrix setup looks while walking through a mall concourse or (increasingly) in movie theaters, I have to wonder whether their latest announcement -- namely, that they'd be adding the ability to conduct sales transactions via applications running on their network -- really made any sense. According to MediaPost,

Once a user is engaged with the experience, opportunities will naturally arise to offer promotions and actual sales of products from the brand advertiser, [CEO Mike Ribero] adds.

Ribero said commercial transactions could be handled one of two ways: through a credit-card swipe (or a wallet sensor for cards with Blink-style capability) or with new technology that ties mobile devices to credit cards, in which the consumer enters a confirmation code from the display.

It's one thing to say that people who interact with your virtual Honda salesroom (or whatever) will be able to remember the brand later. However, like those virtual shop windows that have been getting some buzz lately, this medium definitely seems more of an experiential experiment to me, and certainly not part of any "normal" purchase process that I'd be familiar with. That means Reactrix will have to convince a whole bunch of people that using their system is just another acceptable way of completing a transaction. They could be banking on the fact that younger generations are already (slowly!) getting used to the idea of using contactless systems and even their mobile phones as payment devices, and counting on this generation to look for more unique and gratifying ways to actually complete a purchase. For most people though, I don't see the demand or the advantage.

Tags: self-service, kiosks, reactrix

Japanese restaurant menus go high-tech

2008-03-14T10:00:00.001-05:00

The Japanese have invented some pretty remarkable gadgets in the last couple of decades, but this one is just plain over-the-top. As reported at The Raw Feed, "Japan's TEC has created a restaurant table with a built-in 3-D LCD screen. The table, called the Tobidasu Menu, lets you browse food choices. The piece de resistance is that you can select each item on the touch-screen table for full-size, 3-D view. The table shows what your food will look like sitting in front of you."

According to one of the comments on that post, the Japanese are used to ordering food by appearance, and restaurants (even classy ones) frequently have pictures or even models of the food as well as a text description. Still, I have to believe that this kind of device is designed to be a novelty more than an actual ordering accessory, but I could be wrong.

Tags: self-service, kiosks

Largest Hardee's franchisee tests self-service kiosks

2008-03-13T08:36:00.001-05:00

According to QSR Magazine, Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the largest Hardee's franchise operator in the US, has begun testing self-service kiosks from provider EMN8 in three pilot locations. The pilot is intended to, "test the level of guest adoption of the technology, improvement in speed of customer service, and lift in average check the franchisee can achieve."

Hardees and others continue to test the devices for a number of purported reasons, including lifting the average ticket size (by using the kiosk to recognize and push up-sell and cross-sell opportunities), reduce average wait times during peak periods, and generally improve customer satisfaction. It's interesting, then, that none of the big guys have ever moved beyond the pilot phase, despite years of new initiatives. Maybe the cost of the implementation is too high. Maybe it requires too much ongoing maintenance. Or maybe it's too hard to educate the typical QSR patron about a new way of conducting a familiar transaction. But whatever the problem(s), it seems to be big enough to keep ordering kiosks from really taking off.

That having been said, these QSR chains keep trying new technologies and business partners, so it's clear that some of them really do want to see a viable ordering kiosk solution become available. Given the successes the airline industry have had with self-service, QSR does seem like the kind of environment that could really benefit from it. When and where that "eureka!" moment will finally happen, though, is still anyone's guess.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, QSR

"Leap Day" causes problems for United check-in kiosks

2008-02-29T15:52:00.001-05:00

And here I thought date/time calculations were pretty much a solved problem in the computer programming world. Apparently that's not the case.... at least, not if you have crappy programmers. This according to Chicago Business News, via the AP:

Passengers using United Airlines' "Easy Check-In" found it anything but that on Leap Day when the automated system failed, resulting in longer lines at its U.S. airport counters.

The Chicago-based carrier blamed the service interruption on software issues related to the leap year.

Spokeswoman Megan McCarthy says customers couldn't get Easy Check-In kiosks to confirm they had been checked in or print out their boarding passes for several hours.

McCarthy says no flights were delayed because of the problem. The airline apologized to customers for any inconvenience.

I'm sure that apology made the thousands of passengers waiting in line (after having been spoiled by the always prompt and courteous service of self check-in devices these past few years) feel much better. Makes you wonder how we did without the things just a few years ago :)

Tags: kiosks, self-service, check-in kiosks

When to trade form for function

2008-02-22T14:48:00.001-05:00

Ask any kiosk application designer to name his biggest challenges, and you'll see interface design high up on the list. It's not that it's technically difficult to build graphical applications, or that computers are too slow to show lots of visual bells and whistles. Instead, the true challenge lies with making an interface that is easiest enough for a novice to use, but powerful enough to get the job done, handle special cases, and deal with exceptions and errors gracefully.

Normally you don't hear too much about how an application performs after the fact, though these days we can use web analytics tools to figure out when people are exiting the process too soon, where they seem to get stuck, and which buttons they really like to press.

Sadly, the folks who deployed the self-service informational kiosks at Ballantyne Village in Charlotte, N.C. don't appear to have done this. In what might be the best kiosk user interface critiques I've seen on the web, user experience expert Lynn Marentette dissects an application and lets us come along for the ride thanks to the liberal use of a video camera and YouTube. Her ultimate conclusion:

The large interactive touch screen displays I found at Ballantyne Village didn't live up to potential, nor did they help me achieve my goals as a first-time visitor who happened to have some time and money for an after-work shopping session.

They displays were attractive, but they weren't very useful. They were difficult to use, and during the time I spent exploring the displays, I was the only person who interacted with the screens or noticed the other forms of digital signage in the area.

As I approached the first screen, I noticed that in order to activate the display, I had to chase a red ball around the screen. The migrating red ball attracted me to the screen, but it wasn't always functional. On the first display, as soon as I managed to touch the ball, the screen faded to red, and did not reactivate. I chased a ball on another screen, but it did not activate at all.

I was able activate another screen which allowed me to navigate and find more information. Unfortunately, the content wasn't well-organized or as interactive as I'd expected.

The display performed as if it wanted to be both a video infomercial AND an interactive website at the same time. Web-like navigation conventions, such as a back arrow and navigation bars did not always activate when touched. This might have been related to a screen calibration problem.

There were many on-screen items that were puzzling. There was a rotating map of a large view of the Ballantyne Village area that didn't seem to provide information when touched. There was another image of the main building, with small billboards displayed that looked like they were navigation tools, but did nothing when clicked. Some menu items activated when clicked, but the sub-menus that displayed did not link to anything. I never found out about the sales!

Just goes to show you (again) that what looks good on screen doesn't necessarily translate to a good user experience with your application.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, application design

Self-service kiosks 'ease airport experience'

2008-02-19T11:16:00.001-05:00

That's according to Virgin Atlantic, who uses 220 check-in kiosks at 39 airports to handle check-ins for over 675,000 passengers per month. According to this article at Just The Flight:

The airline, which has introduced self-service check-in kiosks at all of its UK airports, has said that the options presented by the technology afford passengers a simpler airport experience.

"In the past [passengers] would have to go to the ticket desk and then onto a traditional desk to check in. Now they can do it all in one place, which obviously saves valuable time and gives the passenger a simple and seamless experience," said Janine Donovan, press officer for Virgin Atlantic.

According to the airline's website, as many as nine people can be checked in at once using the self-service kiosks, with a bag drop provided for passengers who have luggage to check in. (emphasis added)

Y'all already know I'm a big fan. But it's pretty cool to see a company with the style and panache of Virgin extolling the virtues of self-service as well.

Also getting in on the airport check-in kiosk lovefest is this article from USA Today about Alaska Airlines's kiosk network expansion. The company will ultimately utilize three clusters of 11 kiosks apiece and an additional 16 bag drop pods at Seattle-Tacoma airport. Along with the addition of kiosks, "the new lobby design has cut average check-in time by half, the airline says."

Tags: self service, self check-in, kiosks

Wal-Mart to install Coinstar's '4th Wall' program

2008-02-12T10:32:00.001-05:00

Progressive Grocer tells us that Wal-Mart will be installing Coinstar Centers, integrated self-service units that combine a number of interesting services, as part of their 4th wall optimization plan. The article notes:

The retailer will install Coinstar Centers, including the vendor's Redbox DVD rental kiosks, chain-wide over the next 12 to 18 months.In addition, as part of its 4 th Wall optimization plan, Coinstar will be removing or relocating certain entertainment products in Wal-Mart stores.

Redbox is currently installed in over 800 Wal-Mart stores, and Coinstar Centers (the vendor's coin-counting machines) are installed in over 400 Wal-Mart stores in the United States.

Coinstar's 4th Wall solutions include self-service coin counting, electronic payment solutions, entertainment services, money transfer, and self-service DVD rental, in addition to 4th Wall optimization consulting.

We had heard that some kiosk vendors were being asked to take out their devices, and others were being asked to update them. Rather than ditching self-service entirely as some had speculated (and seemed completely counter-intuitive to me), this 4th wall thing makes a lot more sense. Now customers will learn that all of the self-service devices are located in a single place in every Wal-Mart, and can modify their shopping behavior accordingly.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, Coinstar, Wal-Mart

Cyphermint to provide in-store shipping tech for Walgreens

2008-02-08T10:01:00.001-05:00

I don't know if the systems are going to be customer-facing (and self-service) or just used by store personnel, but one thing I do know is that in-store shipping is becoming the new replacement for in-store photo development. Office supply companies like OfficeMax have offered in-store shipping service for a while now (and of course, the bigges like the UPS Store and FedEx/Kinkos have been making it the focal point for even longer), but DHL is definitely ratcheting up their presence by putting shipping points in 6,500 Walgreens locations across the US. From this press release:

Cyphermint designed a Windows based software solution which is the operating system for the DHL Shipping Spots. At Walgreens and OfficeMax retail locations, The DHL Shipping Spots are staffed by fully trained associates to weigh, label and ship customer packages to US and international destinations.

The user-friendly interface within the DHL Shipping Spots feature intuitive screen prompts which help retail associates quickly prepare a customer shipment. After the associate selects the destination, weighs the package, attaches the label and collects payment, the package is secured and available for DHL pick up. Associates working with customers that already have a DHL account can also enter the customer account number and have the remaining information auto-filled for their convenience. Cyphermint utilized the strengths and experience gained from the transactional and financial application of 7-Eleven's Vcom project and the customer service usability of the recent AAA kiosk to implement the functionality that was essential for the DHL Shipping Spot.

From the "user-friendly interface" comment, I had assumed that this might evolve into a customer-facing application, but after a second reading it's clearly geared towards being staff-assisted. Still, shipping packages seems like one of those things where a self-service solution could probably address 95% of customer needs. If these Shipping Spots prove to be popular, I wouldn't be surprised to see a self-service enabled version 2.0 roll out in the future.

Tags: interactive kiosks, self-service, cyphermint

Pay By Touch's "non-core" units on the block

2008-01-30T09:51:00.001-05:00

I sort of wondered about whether Pay By Touch -- the biometric payment company that encourages shoppers to pay via fingerprint reader instead of swiping a credit card -- was making any money, and according to this article, apparently they're not (or at least not enough):

Biometric-authentication and loyalty-services technology provider Pay By Touch is in bankruptcy, has cut costs drastically, and is shopping some of its subsidiaries, but the company’s former chief executive--who is now a member of the firm’s newly constituted board of directors--says Pay By Touch is solid at its core.

Part of the problem is that the relatively young company tried to do too much too quickly, expanding into international markets and adjacent verticals like loyalty systems without first building its core US biometrics operations into a profitable entity. While the company is keeping some of its better performing subsidiaries like Capture Resource and S&H Greenpoints, everything else must go:

On the block are several so-called non-core subsidiaries operating under bankruptcy protection, including Paycheck Secure, ATM Direct, and Payment Solutions, the merchant processor that formerly operated as CardSystems Solutions Inc. Some observers were surprised that Paycheck Secure, which provides biometric-based paycheck-cashing services and came to Pay By Touch when the company bought rival BioPay LLC, is on the block. But Morris says Paycheck Secure serves convenience stores and other small businesses while Pay By Touch is focusing on larger retailers such as Shell Oil outlets and SuperValu Inc.’s Jewel/Osco supermarket-pharmacies. “We have not done that integration work” with Paycheck Secure, he says. “The core is viewed as being more around big, multilane retailers.”

I'd have to agree. If biometric payment is going to work anywhere, it'll be in those places where lines can be long and anything that will speed up the checkout process will be seen as a benefit to both retailer and consumer. However, given how quick and easy it is to swipe a card, and considering that cellphones and PDAs are increasingly being used as identification devices to allow access to personal (and personalized) services, I still have to wonder whether biometric payment systems will ever catch on.

Tags: biometrics, kiosks, self-service

Serious problems with Block Buster Express kiosks?

2008-01-25T09:58:00.001-05:00

I just got through reading this blog post from John Bocook, a guy who went to check out a new Block Buster Express DVD rental kiosks at his local store, but came away with more than he bargained for:

The first ever Blockbuster Express Kiosk is located just down the street to me. I decided I would try it and see how it worked. I wish I had my camera. When I arrived to the kiosk the tech i guess forgot to unplug the Keyboard and mouse as they were laying on the floor. The computer guy in me decided to see what was under the hood. Two keys later i was looking at a Windows XP desktop with Admin privelages. How can it be? Blockbuster, Do you not realize what I could do if i was a ambitious hacker? If you don't let me tell you.
If Blockbuster isn’t careful, I could:
Despense DVD’s for free
Add a back door to get access to all the creditcard information that is swiped on this machine
Replace the “Play Trailer” videos with a more adult video of my choosing
Add a rootkit, so that even if the machine is re-imaged, I will will have a backdoor.
These are just SOME of the things we could do. How about we take the code for the Machine, figure out how the kiosk’s talk to each other and add a trojan to install rootkit on All the kiosks that connects to the main server hub. From there, We could say, Put in the name nich duncan under the account, and get free rentals at all the kiosks or get even more malicious and Swipe credit card information from ALL KIOKS (sic).

I have no idea whether these things are true, but given that we've seen lots of poorly-implemented retail kiosk systems in the past (indeed, for a while it was even thought that kiosks played a part in the largest theft of credit card data in history), and even electronic voting kiosks have been shown to have numerous vulnerabilities, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were.

Tags: kiosks, self-service

The lowly vending machine reaches newfound heights...

2008-01-22T08:49:00.001-05:00

... at least that was the conclusion drawn in this Business Week article about "luxury" vending machines and new devices that can dispense everything from hot soup to iPods and charge your credit card for the privilege. The article notes:

"The new luxury machines in the U.S. use a robotic arm to retrieve the products and are much more slick, high-tech, and interactive than the machines peddling soda and snacks. The gold-and-silver Coty machine in Queens Center, for example, has larger-than-life pictures of J.Lo and Becks plastered all over it. Instead of pushing buttons, shoppers use touchscreens to make their selections and get instructions on how to return purchases. A flat-panel TV continually plays a demonstration video with music.

"Certain machines have additional high-tech bells and whistles such as a 'virtual beauty consultant' at the Elizabeth Arden kiosk, which suggests the best product for a given skin type. The Coty machine lets customers sample the perfumes by pushing a button that releases a scented puff of air through a quarter-sized hole below a picture of the fragrance."

While numerous shoppers have indicated a preference for buying certain types of articles from a machine rather than a person, the article suggests that we're in fact witnessing a fad whose novelty may wear off. While I'll be surprised if machines selling plasma TVs or exotic lingerie will ever become commonplace, there's a tremendous convenience in being able to shop, buy, and instantly receive your product after hours or without being bothered by a bunch of salespeople. The high-end machines that carry these items bring the best of the Internet (easy shopping and operation at all-hours) together with an important bricks-and-mortar advantage: instant gratification.

Tags: self service, vending machines, kiosks

Microsoft Develops Digital Kiosks For Grocery Stores

2008-01-15T16:08:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, we've heard this kind of news bite several times before and it's always garnered mixed results at best. Yet, according to this article in AdWeek, Microsoft is obviously determined to provide a more interactive grocery store experience that is tied into shopping carts.

There is definitely reason to be skeptical with this kind of announcement, yet there is also reason to be at least partly optimistic. From a tech stand point, Microsoft is certainly a name to be trusted. If the right advertising and marketing know-how can get behind the kind of well-developed technology that Microsoft is capable of, then it could work.

Reading this article, and then looking back at articles about similar attempts, I got the same feeling that I had when I read Nielsen was going to try to put together a way to better measure digital signage/out-of-home ads. No matter how many attempts have been made at a promising idea and how badly they may have failed (which has certainly been the case with measurement systems), I feel it's worthwhile to look past those failures if an organization with a strong reputation shows up to tackle the issue.... Maybe I just haven't been working in this industry long enough :)

Microsoft is obviously putting a lot of stock into digital advertising because according to the article:

"While Microsoft has trailed large rivals like Google and Yahoo! in selling Web ads, it is moving to extend beyond the computer with its digital ad platform. It bought Massive, a provider of advertising on video game platforms. Last May, it bought ScreenTonic, a tech company that serves ads on mobile phones."

It's no secret that Microsoft isn't quite the dominating presence it once was (I'm sure they aren't hurting for money, but Apple, Google and Yahoo! are gaining strength) so if they can successfully move into the out-of-home digital ad realm and gain dominance before the others then it could be a pretty big victory.

With this, and the recent upfront announcement from NBC, it's obvious that very big names are circling this industry. So now it's just a matter of seeing which ones get things right...

Tags: interactive kiosks, smart carts, mediacart

Ez-Pic paperless coupon pilot raises some product sales by 71%

2008-01-09T09:49:00.001-05:00

Not sure if this thing technically qualifies as a kiosk, but it's a pretty neat idea nonetheless (whether or not its time has come is a matter for further discussion, of course). According to this press release/blurb thingy from Progressive Grocer:

Big Y here grew sales of merchandise on promotion an average of 71 percent during a yearlong pilot of a new paperless in-store coupon system.

The solution, called Ez-Pic from Chicago-based Unicous Marketing Inc., is a paperless coupon advertised on retail store shelves and redeemed electronically at checkout. According to the vendor, data supplied for the study was made available by progressive Grocer parent The Nielson Co. and select manufacturers which used the Ez-Pic system in the pilot.

"Ez-Pic is a seamless value, with no aggravation for our customers," said Phil Schneider, v.p. of center store for Big Y. "Plus, there are no additional cost to us."

Unicous said Big Y benefitted through a higher volume of promotional sales and cost efficiencies related to reduced coupon handling time at checkout and on the back-end using traditional coupon clearing house processes.

I've been trying to find out more about the Ez-Pic system, but their homepage is a bit spammy and lacking information. I'm not too sure how it differs from simply having a sale price for the advertised product, as it's unclear whether the customer has to do anything (or not) to redeem the "electronic coupon" at checkout.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, electronic coupons

Self service check-in for international passengers at Mumbai airport news

2008-01-08T14:01:00.001-05:00

If you've ever traveled through Mumbai airport, you probably know that just about any change is bound to be an improvement. And given the past successes of self-service in airports, I have high hopes for this project:

International passengers would soon avail themselves of boarding passes, be able to select seats and also check-in their luggage, with the help of 30 Common Use Self Service (CUSS) kiosks to be provided at the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport by Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).

Passengers at New Delhi will, however, have to wait till March this year to be able to avail of the facility, according to a Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) spokesperson.

MIAL also plans to install 20 more CUSS kiosks in hotels close to the airport. "We are finalising the hotels where the service would be available," said an MIAL spokesperson.

The kiosks, to be installed by MIAL's GVK-led private consortia, will provide the option of paperless boarding, where a code will be sent to the flier's cell phone.

If well-implemented, that would actually be a step above any international check-in kiosks that I've come across yet, though I must admit I feel a certain amount of security in being able to clutch my paper ticket while moving through the throngs of people towards my gate.

Hilfiger tries out interactive storefronts

2008-01-03T08:29:00.001-05:00

Ralph Lauren's 5th Avenue Polo store made headlines last year when it debuted a system that let window shoppers interact with the store windows themselves via interactive touch screen and projection technologies.

Not to be outdone, Tommy has apparently joined the fray and is testing out some interactive storefront tech in Europe. According to a press release posted by fellow blogger Adrian Cotterill at the DailyDOOH:

Hilfiger stores in (London, Amsterdam, Cologne, Antwerp and Dublin) now feature unique through-window touch screen technology, providing an interface for passing shoppers to capture, stylise and submit their image as part of collage of images being shown on digital screens in the shop windows.

The digital storefronts enable customers to interact with the Hilfiger brand even outside of business hours. At the end of the campaign, customers will be able to return to the store and have their own T-shirt specially printed using the image they created as the design.

This is the first time a global fashion brand has embraced an interactive out-of-the-home format to create a unique channel for 24/7 dynamic relationship with its customers. The campaign also serves as mechanic for driving subscriptions to Hilfiger’s email newsletter, with users being asked to opt-in when uploading their images.

Obviously that last paragraph is incorrect, since the aforementioned Polo stores have been doing something very similar for over a year now. Still, there have been numerous sightings of one-off interactive storefronts across the globe now. One wonders if 2008 will bring a "standard" offering that retailers will be able to deploy universally and cost-effectively.

Tags: kiosks, digital signage, interactive storefront

Florida tests out print-on-demand paper ballots

2007-12-31T09:40:00.001-05:00

Well, we're about to enter a major election year, so why not roll out some brand-spanking-new voting technology to test on residents of the most notoriously voting-inept state in the whole union? At least, that must have been what Florida legislators were thinking when 27 counties decided to implement a new print-on-demand ballot system to create the optical scan ballots right as voters need them.

While the optical scan system is quite tried-and-true, the new machines will create ballots customized for a voter's particular party (useful in primaries where, in FL you're only allowed to vote for the party you're registered in). This is supposed to further decrease confusion and ballot clutter, which is good. Of course, as anybody who's ever worked on a big kiosk project knows, putting printers out in the real world = all sorts of problems including paper jams, misfeeds and the like. What happens to a paper ballot that has been slightly mis-printed when you run it through the optical scanner? What happens when a machine jams up? Will all polling stations have backup equipment? Will pollworker training be better than it was for e-voting initiatives in 2000 and 2004 (God I hope so)?

Aside from simplifying each voter's ballot, the major reason for implementing the print on demand system is actually cost reduction, according to this article in the St Petersberg Times. Apparently the heavy paper stock that the optical ballots require is rather expensive, so reducing waste ballots by only printing the exact number and type required will allow counties using the system to be more efficient (one legislator expected that they would have saved $45,000 and 600 staff hours had the system been in place for the 2006 elections).

Admittedly, anything that doesn't rely on Windows-based touch screen computers and lacking any kind of verifiable paper trail is going to be a big improvement over the 2004 Florida systems. Still, introducing complexity in a state where people couldn't tell the difference between "Left Side" and "Right Side" in 2000 isn't necessarily a good idea.

We'll get our first peek at the new tech in late January when Florida holds its presidential primaries.

Tags: e-voting, self-service, kiosks

Digital merchandising helps combat 'feature fatigue'

2007-12-28T13:34:00.001-05:00

There's admittedly not much new info about kiosk or digital signage projects in this recent article by MTI's Jason Goldberg on CE Pro, but they did introduce me to a term that I hadn't come across before: feature fatigue. Simply put, it "refers to electronics customers and their overwhelmed state in researching and becoming acclimated to new products and their—you guessed it—feature-laden natures."

I consider myself a fairly tech-savvy guy, but I can identify with this phenomenon. Even the relatively simple task of selecting a new digital camera for my mom this past Christmas proved it true: I wanted to be able to pick up and handle the different models, so a bricks-and-mortar store was a must. But at the same time, it was hard to compare the features listed on the little tags next to each model, and the sales reps were hampered by big crowds and a lack of detailed product knowledge, so a link to the 'net (and product manufacturer websites and Amazon.com reviews) was also a must.

But I'm guessing I'm one of the few people who will still go into a store and whip out their smart phone (a Blackberry in my case) to look up additional product info. Even "big screen" phones like the iPhone are limited by screen size and connection speed.

An in-store kiosk or smart POS would have been an ideal solution in my case, but sadly the store I was in lacked both. Not surprisingly, Goldberg's firm MTI makes such devices (as do many other companies, of course). Their favorite bit of kit is an item pull, barcode or RFID-based system that lets customers retrieve product information simply by handling the desired item. But when it comes to trying to figure out the pros and cons of various electronics, I find that nothing beats physically handling the different products, and then using one of those comparison matrices to pull out the salient features and compare them head to head. Once I have a product that looks/feels goods and stacks up well against the competition, a quick check of popular product review sites lets me know what past product owners have thought about their purchase.

It's an elaborate system that probably only increases my feature fatigue, but given how complex buying something even as simple as a camera has become, I'll take it over buyer's remorse any day.

Tags: interactive kiosks, smart POS, feature fatigue

Best Buy kiosks continue to contradict web prices

2007-12-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

We wrote about this issue plaguing Best Buy as far back as June 2005, and still the chain can't seem to make the prices on their website match the ones customers are finding at their in-store kiosks.

This article from the Los Angeles Times discusses how a particular customer ran into such a continuity error when purchasing a DVD player.

In all fairness, a rep from Best Buy named Sue Busch was quoted in the article saying that, "Bestbuy.com is the national price. Individual store prices may vary from market to market."

That may sounds good in theory, but Best Buy can sell that company line all they want and they are still going to have to face mobs of angry people complaining, and then possibly shopping elsewhere, because they saw a product listed cheaper on the company's website. While some shoppers may recognize the national vs. local advertised price conundrum when they see it, they're just as likely to think that the store's trying to pull a fast one on them.

This whole issue is a prime example of how major companies still have trouble understanding multi-channel marketing, i.e. they need to think of the web and in-store kiosks not as separate shopping experiences, but rather as a part of the whole. Providing a seamless shopping experience from the web to the store is how the best companies are moving ahead of the rest in this rapidly changing market. Everything from major concerns like prices to the kinds of colors and logos used on the web and in-store should be made to match as often as possible.

I guess maybe I'm more picky than a lot of people, but it really annoys me when a chain store doesn't have a comparable theme to their website than what I come to expect from the in-store shopping experience. I want to see the same colors, the same logos and the same slogans and instructional signage to make me feel like I'm shopping with a company that has moved with me from the web to the brick-and-mortar store.

Tags: interactive kiosks, store experience, retail marketing

Dell's new kiosk is a real chameleon

2007-12-21T09:13:00.001-05:00

Or at least that's what Evan at StorefrontBacktalk has uncovered, as he notes in this blog post:

"Dell will introduce next month a multi-function kiosk that is designed to change function throughout the day, being used perhaps in the morning to check items in at the loading dock before spending the afternoon as a customer-facing pharmacy information booth.

"The as-yet-unnamed 12-inch touchscreen units will likely list for about $1,300 to $1,800 each and will use power-over-Ethernet, said Brian Slaughter, Dell's director of retail.

"Slaughter made much of the kiosk's power-over-Ethernet capability, partially because of its environmentally-friendly aspect (the kiosk uses LEDs to keep power needs down) and also because of the lower operating costs and greater flexibility, he said. "The cost of running Ethernet is substantially less then running power" and video and sound can run over Ethernet at much greater distances, allowing for many of the commercials and other videos needed to be stored on a server at the other end of the store.

The idea of day-parting* content on a digital signage network is of course nothing new, but I can think of very few examples where the same principle has been applied to interactive applications running on kiosks. It makes perfect sense in hindsight -- there are plenty of locations where customers do different things during morning, afternoon and evening. Why not tailor your applications to take advantage of that?

Also, while I've seen some pretty sophisticated devices running on power over ethernet (PoE), this is the first time that I can think of where a real self-service kiosk is taking such a low-power approach. I'll be very curious to see if the limited resources affect its usability at all.

(* If you don't quite understand what day-parting is, I suggest you check out WireSpring's digital signage primer).

Ecast launches BarPulse song popularity metric

2007-12-20T09:10:00.001-05:00

Ecast, a company that claims to operate the largest digital jukebox network in the US (with over 10,000 locations on record), has announced that they will be releasing monthly data on the popularity of the songs users choose to play. From their press release:

Ecast provides digital music to over 10,000 bars and nightclubs across the country. Each week, Ecast adds more than 1,000 tracks to its nationwide network. The new survey, to be released on or about the 15th of every month, shows the most popular song plays, nationwide, from that month's newly added content to the network.

So far, R&B and hip hop have dominated the results, so while "BarPulse is designed to provide a snapshot of what Americans are listening to while they are out in bars and lounges" according to Lisa Tiver, the firm's Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, more likely they're capturing a bigger slice of the urban pie. No word on whether they'll be releasing the data on a region-by-region or city-by-city basis, which would be much more useful to marketers.

As for me, I'm just feeling old since I don't think I could pick out a single one of the songs on their November 2007 "most popular" list. :/

Tags: kiosks, self-service, ecast

Adweek looks at "smart" shopping carts

2007-12-17T15:27:00.001-05:00

Regular readers of this blog know that I'm no fan of the so-called smart cart. The idea of taking a touch screen computer, slapping it onto a cart, and offering features that vary from passive advertising to loyalty to self price-check just doesn't seem to fit with how today's shopper thinks and acts inside the store. Further, the carts have been prone to a huge number of technical and logistical issues stemming from the fact that shopping carts are some of the most heavily-abused equipment you're likely to encounter. According to an article in this week's Adweek, it looks like I'm not alone in my thinking:

While the use of such database technology inevitably brings up privacy concerns, it also has the potential to be annoying. Moreover, it's expensive. The average, analog shopping cart costs somewhere between $150 and $200, but a smart cart can be upwards of $2,000. Since it's unlikely that spending 10 times more will lead to 10 times the benefit, smart shopping carts are a hard line item to defend, particularly for supermarkets, where razor-thin margins that average 1% scarcely make room for investments in lavish techno-perks.

"The cost is prohibitive," said StarCom's Warren. "I don't see it making it through ROI hurdles." As a result, smart shopping carts are still stuck in the pilot stage. The highest profile effort with the carts, Stop & Shop's EasyShop (formerly known as Shopping Buddy)—a small tablet that consumers activate with their Stop & Shop card—is still only available in 90 New England stores.

While the privacy and intrusiveness issues can probably be solved, that ROI one is going to be tougher. Granted, the price of technology continues to drop, and new materials and advances in battery technology will eventually solve some of the up-front and ongoing cost issues currently associated with smart cart technology. But at what point will it make sense for retailers to adopt these things en masse (provided they can be shown to provide any benefit to shoppers, of course). What's the time to a positive return on investment for a standard cart? How much "credit" will retailers be willing to extend in order to reap larger returns from the equipment in the long run? What kind of effect will the mass adoption of these things have on store traffic patterns, the store layout and the use of checkout lanes? Will there be in-house technical support available to help people whose carts crash mid-visit?

Tags: kiosks, self-service, smart carts, shopping buddy

Ohio study finds all e-voting systems vulnerable

2007-12-16T11:32:00.001-05:00

Well here's a surprise: every electronic voting system tested in a recent study conducted at the request of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner were found to have some kind of vulnerability, "which could impact the integrity of elections." From a press release on her website:

The Evaluation & Validation of Election-Related Equipment, Standards & Testing report, known as EVEREST, is a comprehensive review of voting systems revealing startling findings on voting machines and systems used in Ohio and throughout the country. The Ohio study tested the systems for:

- risks to vote security,
- system performance, including load capacity,
- configuration to currently certified systems specifications, and
- operations and internal controls that could mitigate risk.

The $1.9 million study, paid for using federal funds, was structured to allow two teams of scientists, corporate and academic, to conduct parallel assessment of the security of the state’s three voting systems - Election Systems & Software (ES&S), Hart Intercivic and Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold) - in both voting and board of elections environments. Separate research was conducted on each voting system’s performance, configuration and operations and internal controls management. A bipartisan team of 12 election board directors and deputy directors advised the study and evaluated all reports, participating with the secretary in making recommendations for change.

While some tests to compromise voting systems took higher levels of sophistication, fairly simple techniques were often successfully deployed.

The study resulted in a list of recommendations being published and sent to the state's governor. While if implemented they're likely to only affect Ohio's electronic voting laws, the same problems almost certainly exist in every other state that uses some kind of electronic voting terminal. Among the recommendations made were:

Eliminating points of entry creating unnecessary voting system risk by moving to Central Counting of Ballots
Eliminating Use of Direct Recording Electronic (DREs) and Precinct-based Optical Scan Voting Machines that tabulate votes at polling locations
Utilizing the AutoMark voting machine for voters with disabilities (This machine “reads” the bar code on a blank ballot and acts solely as a ballot marking device, allowing voters, especially those with disabilities, to mark ballots with little or no assistance, preserving the secrecy of their ballot selections.)
Requiring all ballots be Optical Scan Ballots for central tabulation and effective voter verification
Maintaining “no fault” absentee voting while establishing Early (15 days prior to the election) and Election Day Vote Centers (of the size of 5 to 10 precincts), eliminating voting at individual precincts or polling places of less than 5 precincts
Requiring all Special Elections (issues only) held in August 2008 to be voted by mail (no in-person voting, except at the board of elections, for issue-only elections held in August 2008)

While it seems like such a simple problem on paper, it's clear that even after four years of development electronic voting terminals are no where near ready for prime-time usage. In my neck of the woods (Broward County, FL), they're ditching the remarkably mediocre touchscreen kiosks that we used in the 2004 and 2006 elections and going back to virtually foolproof (unless your an idiot) optical scanning systems.

I have nothing against self-service where it improves things. But security, validation and reliability issues have plagued touchscreen voting machines from the get-go. Until somebody's really willing to sit down and address all of the concerns, and provide a completely open, transparent hardware and software stack that can be peer-reviewed and modified as necessary, I don't see how touchscreen voting machines could be seen to provide benefits that outweigh their risks and costs.

Tags: voting kiosks, electronic voting, self service

NCR study: Customers want more self-service kiosks

2007-12-12T15:19:00.000-05:00

A study put together by BuzzBack Market Research for NCR has shown that out of 633 U.S. & Canadian residents surveyed, a good portion would like to see more self-service kiosks in some way, shape or form. The major take-away stat of the study is that 77% of those polled said, according to a summary on ePenn.com, that "they are more likely to do business with organizations that offer self-service", in addition "92 percent value combining mobile devices - like mobile phones or PDAs - with the Internet and self-service kiosks or ATMs to improve their overall service experience."

Some common uses that those questioned said they would like to see available through self-service kiosks were making photocopies, renewing drivers licenses and purchasing airline tickets. Also, "an overwhelming majority (85 percent to 94 percent) of respondents indicated they would prefer to use self-service to print items such as maps, tickets, schedules, coupons and other items while banking, shopping, travelling, dining or visiting a medical clinic."

These are good numbers to say the least, but as usual the case with these kind of studies (there seems to be a new one each week) is that they should be taken with a grain of salt. The base of 633 respondents is big, but perhaps not as all-encompassing as it could be, especially considering it's spread out between the U.S. and Canada. Also, they limited the study to people ages 18 & up. Maybe it would have been better to lower that to 16, which is an age where most teens start to get more disposable income. In fact, I'd really like know what portion of the 633 polled represent a younger crowd (say, maybe 28 & under). Its these younger "Gen Y" consumers that are going to shape the way organizations do business in the future. Some older shoppers may use this new self-service technology only when it becomes more prevalent or after they've been spurred on by younger audiences who have convinced them it's much easier and that it's worth breaking traditional shopping habits for (or maybe they'll notice for themselves how much quicker the young guys get in, out and on with their lives rather than waiting on lines or looking for a store employee that knows what he's doing).

If the 633 respondents were spread out evenly among age groups then the survey shows that older consumers are adapting quickly to new self-service technology. But if it wasn't spread out evenly, then my guess is that it unfairly skews towards trends that might be common for younger shoppers, but maybe not so much yet for older ones. Considering that the study focused on such things as booking flights and making copies (which likely skew to older crowds than general retail would) then it could be premature for other, dissimilar businesses to take these findings and run with them.

Tags: self-service, kiosks

Interfaces of the future

2007-12-10T07:59:00.001-05:00

It's been a pretty slow couple of weeks on the kiosk news front, hence the lack of posts. Guess it's just that time of year. But I did come across a pretty neat article recently about the future of user interfaces -- and I'm not talking about getting rid of the desktop, I'm talking about getting rid of the mouse, monitor and keyboard. As Smashing Magazine notes, a couple of companies are doing some pioneering work in the area of haptics, motion capture, and advanced visualization that could easily find their way into next generation "experiential" tools like Reactrix has done and Microsoft's Surface is threatening to do.

One of the most impressive is a new display tech by Cheoptics360, which generates a 3-D hologram in midair without viewers having to wear any silly headgear. Talk about product promotions -- this thing can show virtually anything that will fit in a 5x5 meter (15'x15' for us imperialists) area. While it'd be expensive to show off clothes and inexpensive packaged goods, I could easily see such a device used to show off different colors and options packages for expensive, high-margin products like cars, boats and RVs, where the experience of navigating the product can add a lot to the sales pitch.

My other favorite device from the not-to-distant future of computer interfaces is the Reactable multi-touch interface. Like Surface, it can follow multiple touchpoints simultaneously, and allow for all of those flashy user interface effects that we've seen. However, this tech specializes in following objects moved across its surface too. While the current demo is just that -- a demo with no real commercial value -- I could see something like this extending into a high-tech price scanner that recognizes a shopped item placed on top of it, and provides the visitor with an engaging interactive experience featuring product details, price, inventory levels and content well-suited towards the device's interactive nature (perhaps a lesson on how to fold a shirt placed on top of it, for example).

Granted, none of this stuff will see the light of day without some kind of "killer app." And while the gee-whiz effect is certainly still responsible for a lot of high-tech purchases destined for the retail sales floor, the amount spent on such eye-candy continues to pale in comparison to the amount spent on the old stalwarts of the industry (like touch screen kiosks and ePOS), which while no longer cool or flashy, continue to drive lots of transactions and have a timely and predictable ROI.

Technorati Tags: kiosks, self-service, user interface

Kiosks allow users to pay bills, parking tickets in Chicago

2007-12-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Tribune has reported that kiosks are popping up in the Chicago area to allow patrons to pay parking tickets, various various bills and take care of other financial obligations.

According to the article, "Chicago residents can pay water-sewer bills, parking tickets and fines for red-light camera violations with cash, checks, credit cards or debit cards at any of 14 electronic kiosks.The city has installed the stands to provide an option to make payment easier, city Revenue Director Bea Reyna-Hickey said Monday. Five of the kiosks, at O'Hare International Airport and four police stations, can be used 24 hours a day."

Kiosks could ultimately turn into a way where residents of any major city can receive up-to-date information and interact with local municipal services. The local government could use them to promote important upcoming events and provide access to services that are useful at or near the kiosk's physical location. Local newspapers could also join forces to provide news feeds, particularly useful for residents who may not pick up a newspaper every day or who don't watch the nightly news.

Tags: kiosks, , bill-pay kiosks, self-service

Kiosk replaces front desk in Amerstam's Qbic hotel

2007-11-16T10:46:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting story that ran in The Denver Post about a hotel in Amsterdam that has eliminated their front desk altogether in favor of a self-service kiosk.

In theory, if the kiosk can actually handle all of the typical transactions that take place at a hotel's front desk, it might work out. Hotels can be tricky environments, though, and a faulty computer system or incomplete transaction could potentially mess up reservations and quickly lead to chaos on on crowded weekends or holidays (though of course an attendant could still be present during peak traffic times).

To avoid those types of issues, check-in kiosks are often implemented in hotels that are primarily aimed at people traveling on business, since their transactions tend to be straightforward, and the travelers quickly build up experience using the kiosks. They don't work so well (in my experience) in more touristy hotels where people are infrequent travelers, have complicated reservations, or are simply looking for that unique human interaction that comes at every turn while staying in another country. For that reason it's pretty interesting that Qbic has decided to go the route of ditching the front desk altogether.

One other possible concern is how older, less tech-savvy users would respond to the technology. Granted Qbic is billed as a state-of-the-art hotel, so guests are probably going to be of the variety comfortable interfacing with computers, but the issue of tech support is bound to come up anyway. A lot of the more common pitfalls can probably be avoided with lots of well written and easy-to-follow instructions on nearby signage.

If all else fails, though, a "roving concierge" is still around to assist customers.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, self check-in

Got a self-service app you hate? Maybe now you can do something about it

2007-11-15T10:07:00.001-05:00

At least, that will be the case if RedesignMe! takes off. The site is a collaborative database of poorly designed products (uploaded by regular folks), and helpful suggestions about how they might be made better.

While there's no focus on self-service per se, I can certainly think of a number of kiosk apps that I've encountered in the past that could have used a bit (or a lot) of design work.

Tags: RedesignMe, kiosks, self-service

Diebold study focuses on ATM habits

2007-11-14T19:20:00.000-05:00

A recent study from Diebold takes a look at the banking preferences of Boomers, Gen-X and -Y consumers, and the results have some clear implications for the kiosk industry. According to this synopsis on CNNMoney.com, "The analysis considers three distinct demographic groups in its findings: baby boomers (age 43 and older), Generation X (ages 26-42) and Generation Y (ages 18-25)" the article continues to discuss the findings saying, "Specifically, study results reveal that automated teller machine (ATM) usage continues to find strong support across generations. In fact, the study shows that aside from withdrawing cash, all generations unilaterally rate viewing account balances, making deposits and transferring funds between accounts as their three most-preferred ATM services."

So what does this mean? Simply put, if ATMs can top the traditional banking system in terms of consumer preference, then it's possible kiosks providing different services can also do the same.

Younger customers are more tech savvy and our lifestyles reflect that. I would fall in the "Generation Y" category, which according to the study showed the biggest preference for ATMs, and I know for a fact that I use banks as little as possible. I also know that more advanced technology makes my life easier in some ways and makes it more hectic in others. While ATMs may save me the time of going to the bank, I also compulsively check my e-mail sometimes to the point of addiction. Regardless, I've grown up with a variety of advancements that came into their prime during my lifetime and most of them seem more natural to me than anything that came before it. And I'm certainly not alone. I can't remember how many times my friends from college would ask me in all seriousness, "How did they do reports before the internet?"

When relating these concepts to kiosks, the key is that everything has to lead back to convenience. That's how to get the attention of the average, everyday consumer. Flashiness doesn't matter nearly as much as practicality. I doubt that my generation is any lazier than past ones, but we do expect a certain level of convenience that comes from our constant exposure to technology. If we can do something at a screen instead of doing it in person (and it's not a social thing), then we will. It's more comfortable for us, and it's almost always faster and more convenient too.

A lot of companies in the kiosk business get this, and more businesses are starting to hop on the bandwagon. Now there are places in public where we can download songs, pay bills and even get directions. It's a trend that is only going to grow stronger. ATMs lead the way. But now airport check-in kiosks are pretty much universally accepted, and hotel check-in kiosks are rapidly catching up. I wonder what the next "killer-app" kiosk will be?

Tags: ATM, kiosks, self-service

Google places mapping system on gas pumps

2007-11-08T16:21:00.000-05:00

Serving as a nice follow up to Monday's article about pay-by-touch gas station pumps, MediaPost reports that Google has struck a deal to include mapping systems at the pumps as well. According to the article, "Men who hate asking for directions now have a savior in the form of Google Maps, which will soon be available via interactive displays installed in gas pumps at stations across the country. The Internet connections are appearing courtesy of a deal between Google and gas pump manufacturer Gilbarco Veeder-Root, which says the first wave will bring the service to about 3,500 pumps."

According to the article, advertisements will not be utilized immediately. That's really a shame for advertisers, because this a perfect venue for them. My guess is it won't take long before they start popping up.

Putting displays with easy access to directions near gas pumps obviously has some very practical benefits, and as a great service to customers, I think advertisers on such a system would be given a lot more consideration than other pump-top ad networks. Plastering ads in places where they aren't welcome is always a tough sell, but putting in ads for local restaurants, supermarkets and other businesses on these displays will be much more welcome, especially when you can touch a screen to get directions to them. This will be especially true in high tourist areas where people tend to be lost or unfamiliar with their surroundings.

Once they've gotten into the game, why stop at directions or basic advertisements? Why not include actual reviews for restaurants or the capability to print out coupons to local supermarkets, or beam them down to your cell phone. The more interactive these displays are the better, since there's a several-minute long period that people must wait while filling up.

Now, if only they would invent ad-subsidized fuel to bring gas prices down to a more reasonable level :)

Tags: digital signage, interactive kiosks, gas station kiosks

Paying by touch at Chicago-based Shell stations

2007-11-05T15:22:00.000-05:00

According to this article on Yahoo!, some Shell gas stations in Chicago are testing kiosks from Pay By Touch that will allow consumers to pay based on fingerprint identification. The firm has traditionally placed its biometric scanners into grocery and pharmacy chains, but has decided that it offers a value-add anywhere that purchases can be streamlined or made faster or more convenient.

The first question I asked myself when reading this was, "with technology like this how long will physical money survive?" It's an important question to ask, and my guess would be not too much longer. In all honestly, I make a good portion of my purchases by just using my debit card. I rarely write checks and with online checking I don't really keep a check book in the conventional sense. I'm also guessing that I'm not in the minority. So what does this mean in regards to my shopping habits? That's simple: more impulse buying. Using a debit card makes a purchase seem less real than using cold, hard cash.

Technology as advanced as this will only increase impulse purchasing, and that is always a good thing for business. It's a lot easier to place your thumb on a screen to buy something you really want but know you shouldn't buy than it is to reach into your pocket, grab the cash and physically see the tole it is taking on your net worth. Not to mention, you can leave your wallet at home, or worse, lose it. You're never without your thumb (hopefully).

Of course, there is the issue of paranoia that comes into play with technology such as this. To most people, finger identification is a tool used by secret agents to infiltrate the lairs of criminals. They don't expect to see it at their local gas station. And if you think I'm over-simplifying or even exaggerating just read this interesting bit from the article:

"Sunflower Market, a Chicago grocery store, also has Pay By Touch systems installed. About 2 percent of its customers signed up for the payment option, said the store's manager, Debbie Britton.

"I think it scares people," Britton said. "They're more confused about the whole system. Some of them say, 'Well, now the FBI can find me.'"

Tags: PayByTouch, kiosks, self-service

Walgreens adds burn-on-demand DVD kiosks

2007-10-30T07:54:00.000-05:00

You have to give it up to Walgreens. First they reach outside of their relatively unexciting image as a drugstore in order to start a promotion along side Live! With Regis and Kelly, and now Yahoo! reports that they'll be installing kiosks that will enable costumers to download movies and burn them onto a DVD right at the store.

Burn-on-demand technology isn't exactly new, but what makes this deployment unique is that Walgreens is trying to use the kiosks to reach new customers stores as well as expand their reach and broaden their image with existing ones. From a business perspective, the idea of having thousands of products available for sale in a condensed space is excellent. Studios don't need to ship DVDs in bulk to the stores and Walgreen's doesn't need to clear out large portions of the store to accommodate them. It's win-win. It also allows the stores to carry hard-to-find titles that may not sell as fast and would waste valuable shelf space if they were physically in a store.

By going the burn-on-demand route, Walgreens is also aligning itself with the future of film viewing. Ever since Netflix came along, traditional film rental outlets like Blockbuster and Hollywood have had to scramble to compete. Since then, people have also started becoming more reliant upon downloading media instead of renting a hard copy. So the whole rental business is becoming about meeting viewers halfway between controlling content and making things convenient. And talk about multitasking: if a customer can pick up prescriptions and groceries and then burn a movie to DVD while they wait, chances are it will make their day easier than making another stop at a video store.

Of course, the one thing Walgreens really needs to keep in mind is that their customers tend to skew a little older and therefore may not always be tech savvy. This means they'd better spell things out pretty clearly on the kiosks unless they want to create some severely confused customers. In addition, they'll also need to make it cheaper or at least competitive in price to other DVD sales outlets right from the start. It's never wise to underestimate the willingness of people to go completely out of their way to save money.

Once again, the fact that Hollywood is going to be taking advantage of the kiosk as a method for both promotion and distribution bodes well for the future of this platform. It'll be a while before DVD kiosks can take a sizable chunk out of the profits of more conventional outlets like Blockbuster and Best Buy, but as long as they move towards streamlining the process, making it affordable and making it convenient, they'll have a shot at taking a piece of the pie while letting once niche-retailers expand into a new and profitable product category.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, burn-on-demand

MediaMouth expands onto Facebook

2007-10-23T08:41:00.000-05:00

This piece of news came out a little while ago, but it's still worth a mention:

MediaMouth (previously known as Digital Kiosk Technologies), a company known for retail kiosks which allow users to download music to a CD, is expanding their operation onto the hugely successful social networking site Facebook. According to this article on Yahoo! Finance, "MediaMouth's new Music Gifts(TM), brand music application for Facebook, is the first and only music store application on Facebook that allows users to buy and gift individual music tracks and create custom mix CDs directly from their profile page, as well as share music clips and playlists with their Facebook friends."

This is a great move on the part of MediaMouth, even if it does take them away from their self-service roots. Facebook really is one of the best places to reach younger audiences, and it is arguably more powerful than MySpace (at least until the new phenom site comes along). Young audiences are a notoriously fickle yet very desirable crowd to gain the attention of, so gaining visibility via one of the Internet's irising stars is a very savvy approach. Additionally, this is a shining example of how kiosk companies can expand their brand into other technologies in order to reinforce their recognition. My guess would be that joining with Facebook will draw people to their in-store kiosks (or at least make the kiosks more visible) more than the kiosks will bring people to the Facebook feature. Either way, it's win-win for MediaMouth.

If MediaMouth can show success with this project, it opens doors for other companies to think outside the box and pursue similar advancements. Don't be surprised if others (e.g RedBox, DVDPlay, etc.) start to look for an angle they can take in order to establish some kind of Facebook, MySpace or other social media network tie-in in the near future.

Although, given how long social networking sites are hot these days, the wisest decision may be to look for the next Facebook and work towards joining forces with that :)

Tags: MediaMouth, kiosks, Facebook

Does self-checkout reduce impulse buys?

2007-10-21T16:53:00.001-05:00

Over a year ago we first heard rumblings that shoppers who routinely used self-checkout lanes were less likely to make impulse purchases. Whether it was because people who use the lanes are inherently less likely to make impulse buys, or that the lanes were causing regular shoppers to become a little too efficient is still a matter of much discussion. But only just recently the topic resurfaced when research firm IHL Consulting Group noted that, "impulse purchases among women drop 32.1 percent and men 16.7 percent when self-checkout is used instead of a staffed checkout."

This time, though, the group suggests a few possible causes, backed up with real data. The first cause is simple enough: not many retailers that have installed self-checkout lanes have bothered putting the racks of chewing gum, salty snacks and other popular impulse items nearby. Similarly, while the science of arranging racks of impulse goods near traditional checkout lanes is fairly well understood, the same can't be said for self-checkout, so it's possible that stores will have to re-arrange items near these aisles to make them more eye-catching.

Second, and problematic for the industry, is that customers do appear -- for one reason or other -- to make fewer impulse buys even when the items are nearby. Again, there's no new info on whether it's due to the self-selection effect, some property of the environment, or a surplus effect of the self-checkout lanes themselves. One thing's for sure, though: if retailers find that same-store sales of impulse products fall after the installation of self-checkout lanes, that drop needs to be considering when determining the true cost -- and ultimate ROI -- of self-checkout systems.

Tags: self-checkout, self-service, kiosks

Flytech introduces new all-in-one unit

2007-10-17T11:27:00.001-05:00

There's been some noise in the all-in-one space lately, what with IBM launching an updated version of their popular AnyPlace kiosk and this new product getting released by Taiwanese hardware vendor Flytech. According to the (admittedly limited) product website, the "K790 series is an advanced metal Panel PC. Its ultra slim and exquisite metal enclosure catches most eye contacts (sic). [The] K790 series includes four different display sizes, 12”, 15”, 17" and 19" equipped with high brightness TFT panels and resistive/SAW touch screens." Additionally, the units are rated NEMA 3 / IP 55 dust and water proof, and are thus suited for industrial applications as well as more mundane retail, government and transportation-oriented self-service applications.

Thanks to Gadgettastic for the much better-looking images than the manufacturer has on their site :)

Tags: kiosks, all-in-one, Flytech

High Tech Carts Inform Shoppers Of Unhealthy Choices In London

2007-10-12T15:54:00.001-05:00

ABC News has reported that shoppers London may soon be pushing around "trolleys" (that's shopping carts for us Yanks) that have the ability to warn them when they are buying too much unhealthy food at the supermarket.

According to the article, "the high-tech model will be fitted with a computer screen and barcode scanner. It will read each product's individual code to give customers information about calories, nutrition, ethical sourcing and the environment." This is definitely an interesting concept and it opens up the possibility for other similarly themed technologies that can provide shoppers with useful information (ill-fate of the Shopping Buddy be damned). It's also a potentially great way for customers without in-depth knowledge of the foods they eat to maintain a healthy diet.

However, the system is not without its drawbacks, the first of which obviously being that there are tons of products in any supermarket that are not healthy (in fact their numbers probably easily outweigh the healthy options). What will the folks at places like Frito Lay feel about a machine attached to a cart that essentially tells shoppers not to buy their product? My guess is they won't be making any contributions to EDS, the U.S. based company responsible for the technology. Plus, it could also cause a lot of overly crowded shopping aisles as customers stop and read information about various products.

This kind of technology is probably better suited to specialized health food stores where people are making the conscious decision to eat an entirely healthy diet, and are willing to take the time to learn about the different options the store offers. In mainstream supermarkets, the systems simply have too much potential to do more harm than good, at least from a business perspective.

Tags: kiosks, smart cart, marketing at retail

Kiosk not found to be cause of TJX security breach

2007-09-26T07:04:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago we speculated (with the help of some other speculation) that the security breach at TJX (the company that owns TJ Maxx, Marshalls and others) could have been caused by hackers who used unattended employment application kiosks to gain access to the firm's corporate network. Both Information Week and StorefrontBacktalk suggested that the kiosks were a reasonable vector into the net, especially since many suggested that it was not firewalled away from other connected devices.

However, this story in the WSJ today suggests that was not the case at all. Instead, the privacy commissioners of Canada and the province of Alberta (who jointly conducted a probe), found that:

"TJX was using a weak encryption protocol to protect its consumer data in July 2005, when hackers first broke into its computer system. The protocol, known as Wired Equivalent Privacy, or WEP, isn't recommended by securities experts even for wireless home networks because it is so vulnerable to hackers.

"TJX decided to upgrade to a more secure Wi-Fi Protected Access encryption protocol at the end of September 2005, Canadian officials said. By then, however, hackers had been able to access the company's internal transaction database. They did so initially from outside two stores in Miami, the probe found."

While this isn't the only investigation going on inside the company, and it's possible that others will find additional ways past the firm's security systems, at least for now it looks like kiosks were not directly at fault for causing the breach and subsequent theft of up to 45.7 million credit card numbers.

Tags: TJX, kiosks, security

NBC U Steps Into The Retail Kiosk Arena

2007-09-20T19:51:00.000-05:00

Media Post has reported that NBC Universal is going to be installing retail kiosks that allow customers to download music and will promote NBC's new TV programs (in particular, their late night line-up). According to the article, "The network will have access to hundreds--an exact figure was not provided--of so-called Mediaport ATMs at retail locations to display their promo content. The ATMs, or "vending machines," offer some 1 million tracks that can be downloaded to mobile devices or CDs."

This comes right on the heels of the announcement that NBC U has put together an ad council to look into further advancements in media buying and planning. Plus, it's also no secret that major media outlets are starting to pay more and more attention to out-of-home advertising.

This is a great move on NBC U's part, and if their research and experiments pay off they're going to look very smart when the other major networks begin to follow suit. Considering that the network consistently falls behind CBS, ABC and FOX in the ratings wars (watch a week's worth of Conan O'Brien and you'll likely hear a joke about NBC being #4), they really can only gain momentum by experimenting with non-traditional advertising methods and media.

I also think that a music download kiosk could be a very solid platform for ad delivery, as it's a prime example of giving back to ad viewers. Whether they are drawn in by the content on the screens or by the prospect of downloading songs, viewers are bound to get something worthwhile out of the experience. It's also a good way to engage younger audiences, which is certainly a big reason why advertisers and networks have been experimenting so much recently. The TV ad market, while still huge, is slowly being eroded by the prospect of something better, whether it's YouTube, TiVo or the fast-growing video game market. These things are not only eating away at the TV viewer base, but also at where viewers' attention spans and taste for TV advertising.

But the fact remains that television is still the defining media platform, and if NBC and the other big networks can bring more viewers back with techniques such as this one then it will serve as a big lesson for traditional media.

Tags: NBC Universal, interactive kiosks, kiosks

Would self-service airports be better than what we have now?

2007-09-14T09:08:00.001-05:00

Normally descriptions of sterile future environments clad in stainless steel and devoid of bustling humans can get pretty creepy and dystopian, but after reading this blog post at Smarter Travel I wonder if airports might be an exception to that rule.

While few would argue that airline check-in kiosks have dramatically improved things both travelers and airlines, Smarter Travel posits that we could probably see even better results -- including lower costs, less stress and lower airport traffic -- by pushing self-service to the limits. Envision, as they suggest, this scenario:

As the automatic doors part, you step into your familiar old airport. Except it's not familiar at all. Gone are the ticket clerks, baggage handlers, and other airline personnel you've long depended on to get you and your luggage to your destination. You walk up to a kiosk and check in for your flight by waving your cell phone at a laser, then drop your suitcase into a chute, and proceed to security. You're ready to fly and it's only been three minutes, but you haven't interacted with a soul.

Creepy? Yeah, still a little. But darned efficient, you have to admit. And it's not just a pipe dream, either. Apparently there are proposals on the table to fit Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport with this kind of technology, along with other possible concepts like a shared check-in counter for all airlines and RFID luggage tracking. But the article also notes that just like other self-service experiments it will take a combination of customer education, employee training and a good deal of hand-holding to make everything work properly. Smart Traveler ultimately asks two critical questions: "if there's no one around to help when the machines break down,
what do you do?", and "are airline officials really interested in
improving the customer experience, or is the prospect of cutting labor
costs really behind this push to automate airports?"

These and others will certainly need to be addressed, but I'd say they're part of the same, larger question of, "do airline officials realize that making things better for customers can make things better for the airlines as well?" After the rapid adoption of self-service check-in kiosks, I'm hoping they've started to realize that. To realize the kinds of benefits that they're hoping for with this new level of automation, airlines and airport management companies need a true win-win scenario -- without customer, airport and airline all receiving some benefit from the new technology and practices, the system will never take off, if you'll pardon the pun.

Technorati Tags: self-service, check-in kiosks, ticket kiosks

Ice cream kiosks dispense product based on happiness

2007-09-12T08:44:00.001-05:00

As this story from Advertising Lab tells us, the Royal College of Art-Platform 11 has developed an ice cream kiosk that will dispense a portion of ice cream commensurate with how happy or sad the user is. Having a bad day? Voice sensors will detect the stress in your voice and dole out a healthy portion of the cold, creamy manna (I'm an ice cream addict, if you couldn't guess :). Not so unhappy? Then you can afford to cut back on the calories and save more for those who may need it. As Demitrios Kargotis, the kiosk's inventor, simply states, "the more unhappy you are, the more ice cream you need."

While the machine (which is more of an art project than something intended for commercial production) is certainly novel, as a generally happy person I still feel the need for a big portion, thank you very much.

Tags: kiosk, self-service, ice cream kiosk

NYT blogger uncovers user perceptions about check-in kiosks

2007-09-05T09:36:00.001-05:00

New York Times technology columnist David Pogue isn't exactly a Luddide, so I was kind of amused to see this recent blog post about his experience with a hotel check-in kiosk at a New York Hilton. Here's his account of what happened:

There were about 400 people waiting in line for the Reception desk. But me, I just breezed up to the kiosk, fed it a credit card for I.D. purposes, and pocketed the card key that the machine spat out. The machine then printed a page that identified my room number, and even gave me directions on how to find the elevator! (“Cross the lobby,” etc.)

They’ve had check-in kiosks at airports for years now. But in my view, hotels need them far more desperately. What the heck took so long?

O.K., the concierge told me that this Hilton has actually had them for two years now. But still, you get my point: At most hotels, you get there, you stand in line, you’re tired from travel, and you just lean against the counter for—what, seven minutes?—as the reception agent taps away on the computer. What on earth is so complicated about checking somebody in?

Hate to say it, but the little kiosk machine completed the same transaction in under 30 seconds. Let the revolution begin!

Of course, hotel check-in kiosks aren't anything new, and while still less utilized than airport check-in kiosks (which have reduced some airlines' check-in staff by over 40%), they're still one of the fastest-growing areas for self-service devices today. My own (wholly anecdotal) observation does agree with Pogue's: people seem reluctant to use the machines, as they still seem to get some additional benefit/service from speaking with somebody at the counter. This is distinctly different from airports, where very few people need or expect to get anything other than a boarding pass and seat confirmation before heading to the gate.

More interesting than Pogue's post, though, are the 100+ reader-submitted comments on the subject, ranging from "kiosks are great" to "kiosks suck." I don't know that I've ever seen a more varied display of opinions on the matter, and I suspect that kiosk application designers will be able to gain a little insight into the love-hate relationships that many people have with self-service technologies. The comments themselves are well worth the read. Here's a brief selection that I found pretty enlightening:

I don’t know, there’s something about check-in kiosks that I just don’t like. I see the obvious benefits of having them if you’re tired, don’t feel like waiting in line, etc. But I just prefer interacting with a person, especially when I’m at a place like an airport. They’re great as long as they’re just an additional option for checking in, not if they replace normal check-in desks altogether (Nick Schumacher).
I have seen them in other Hilton’s over the past 2 years. Most times they are not even noticed by the folks in the check-in line. I was in a hotel in Oakland near their airport about 6 months ago, and not only did they have kiosks to check-in, they also had lobby kiosks to let you print boarding passes for every airline serving the Oakland Airport. Talk about convenience (Jim McNerney).
I often wonder if keeping the traditional check-in method is some misguided idea of providing high-touch service… (Brian)
There’s a big reason to use a person. A person can find you a better room, especially if you have status with the chain. The computer will give you nothing better than what your reservation says. (Stew)

In those four comments alone there are a range of shortcomings that need to be addressed, not so much with technology, but with marketing, customer education and staff training. Thankfully we're now passed the stage where kiosk reliability is measured in the number of reboots/day, but the problems that we'll face as they become more pervasive will be even harder to solve.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, check-in kiosk

Are you ready for the self-service restaurant?

2007-08-30T11:02:00.001-05:00

RetailWire has a neat article (free registration required) on a concept restaurant that recently opened in Germany. Called Baggers, the shop positions itself as the restaurant of the retro-future, and has customers place orders via touchscreen, with a complex system of rails and trolleys used to deliver food right to the table.

Never mind that the interior of the place looks like Rube Goldberg tried to redesign Chutes and Ladders, my question is whether people are ready for a do-it-yourself restaurant experience outside of a QSR or fast-casual environment?

I have to admit that I'm a sucker for gimmicks, so I'd probably give the restaurant a shot just so I could see my order whizzing across the restaurant and down to my place setting, but after that, I'm not so sure. What happens if I drop a fork and need a new one? Is there an easy way to order a drink refill? What if I spill something?

One of the nice things about going to a sit-down dining establishment is that you know that there's a small army of people waiting on you -- literally. That's why we (or I, at least) get upset when service is lousy -- it's like we've been betrayed. So while the Baggers concept certainly looks cool, I have a lot of questions that I'd want answered before settling on whether it's a good idea or not.

Tags: self-service, interactive kiosks, restaurant kiosks

Marc Ecko's digital grafitti inspires interaction

2007-08-25T15:02:00.001-05:00

Maybe it's a kiosk, or maybe it's an interactive digital sign, but whatever you call it, it's pretty slick.

According to Ads of the World, "Marc Ecko wants to promote his roots and love for graffiti. Digital citylights are created that consists of an LCD and a bluetooth interface. People will get the possibility to access the citylight via bluetooth with their cell phones and spray their own graffiti with the cursor of their phone."

While the electronic poster doesn't really provide any kind of self-service function, the ability to engage passers by and engage users with a unique interactive experience puts this thing -- whatever it actually is -- firmly in the "kiosk" camp for me.

There's no word on whether this is a one-off project or part of a larger deployment, but JC Decaux has experimented with similar interactive advertising devices in the past, and in fact this could be the same exact hardware used for some of those past campaigns.

Tags: interactive kiosks, digital signage, out-of-home advertising

Sony bets the bank on PS3 kiosks

2007-08-20T09:20:00.001-05:00

Ok, that's not completely accurate. More like, "Sony bets PS3 kiosk might work inside a bank," at least according to this little blurb from GamerNode. All joking about needing to take out a second mortgage to afford the PS3 aside, apparently the firm believes that by offering some entertainment for bank patrons and/or their children through a lush in-bank environment dubbed "THE BANK ZONE," they'll build some positive brand image (and of course the bank hopes that the additional level of service will help separate them from their competition).

No word on how many BANK ZONE environments are set to be deployed (the current ones are designed and implemented by Sony Computer Entertainment Korea), but my guess is that they'll never see the light of day in the US. Still, seeing a PS3 demo loop of Metal Gear Solid 4 or Final Fantasy XIII might compel the average patron to withdraw a few hundred more... just in case.

Tags: self-service, kiosks, PS3

Sequoia Media brings DIY movie making to Wal-Mart

2007-08-14T09:32:00.001-05:00

While photo kiosks have become commonplace in big-box retailers like Wal-Mart, vendors have been looking for ways to provide more services through these devices in order to boost sales. I've seen kiosks that let you send finished photos away to be blown up into posters, and others that let you screen photos onto T-shirts and other soft goods, but this offering from Sequoia Media is the coolest extension of the photo kiosks that I've yet seen. From this MediaPost writeup:

The myMovieMaker service, available in Fujifilm photo kiosks at Wal-Mart stores, lets customers turn digital photos into personalized DVD movies for between $12.86 and $16.86. "We're targeting a market really underserved--the photo mom, the chief memory officer out at daily events," says Terry Dickson, Sequoia Media's vice president of marketing and business development. "They're busy. They can be at the
soccer game one day, the dance recital the next, taking photos with a phone or digital camera and then take the photos to your retail store or workstation at home and create a memory."

The company built buzz for the service by offering a free demo of the technology online, letting anybody build a short video by uploading photos into the system. While the web demo lets users email their short creations to friends and family, in order to create longer, more elaborate clips and save their work, they'll have to go to the in-store kiosks.

Tags: self-service, Wal-Mart, kiosks

No firewall + windows registry entry = BAD!

2007-08-11T16:44:00.001-05:00

I can't claim the title as my own, as I pilfered it from a colleague who forwarded me this story from Storefront Backtalk about the now-infamous hacker breakin at TJX that led to the theft of hundreds of thousands of credit card numbers and other personal information. While the company had attributed the theft to rogue hackers who had infiltrated the company's wifi network from a nearby parking lot, it now looks as like the attackers may have instead used an unprotected kiosk as the entry vector. The kiosk in question is normally used for taking employment applications (you've probably seen them at your local department store or supermarket). The current theory is that the attackers opened the back of the kiosk and attached a USB drive to the device that was then able to download software onto the kiosk's hard disk, and ultimately the corporate network (which it was connected to directly, sans firewall). Once inside the network, the attackers made quick work of any other security precautions, and went on to steal the data.

So let's do a quick review of what went wrong:

Access to the employment kiosks' innards (e.g. computer hardware) was not restricted (why on earth weren't these locked?)
The computers' USB ports were not disabled, even though they served no purpose on the kiosk.
The kiosks were running an operating system that could somehow be fooled into loading arbitrary software from a USB key
The kiosks were connected to the corporate network WITHOUT A FIREWALL

And of course that partial list leaves off other burning questions, like how store employees didn't notice somebody messing around with the kiosk's innards right inside the store?

Yet, as bad as each of these problems is, they were all avoidable.

For #1, a simple padlock (key or combination) would have done fine. Padlock holes are standard issue on lots of computer cases, and most kiosks come with locking doors.

As for #2, disabling unused USB ports can often be done from the BIOS (which itself can be password protected), but if that option isn't viable, a little crazy glue works wonders.

While I normally don't flog WireSpring's products in this blog, our FireCast kiosk operating system was designed with #3 in mind. We've gone through VISA's PCI compliance testing and PABP certification process, as should pretty much anybody working inside a retail environment these days.

As for #4... well... I'm just dumbfounded. How anybody can put a device on a network these days that ISN'T behind a firewall is just beyond me. I can only hope that TJX's lesson is being learned by others who will now go and re-examine their current customer-facing applications to make sure they're as locked-down and secure as possible.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, TJX

Does self service = better service?

2007-08-08T08:15:00.001-05:00

That's exactly the question that this article at the Washington Post considers. The first half considers the many things that self-service has going for it these days, including better technology, more user-friendly applications, and a shopper base that's already used to surfing the Internet (probably doing some pre-shopping research) and using ATMs. The second half takes a look at some shortcomings, though, including these tidbits:

[Many] retail outlets remain kiosk-free, with consumers preferring to try on clothes and ask sales associates for help. Fast-food executives say they're waiting for better, more flexible technology.
Gap Inc.'s use of consumer kiosks failed because shoppers were being left alone for too long and many preferred talking with sales people, said Praveen Kopalle, a professor in Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business.
"This technology is very useful when customers immediately see where the benefit is, where the convenience is and where it's more personalized," Kopalle said, citing simple tasks such as withdrawing cash or placing a fast-food order.
McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and others are testing kiosks and while technology providers predict widespread adoption by 2010, restaurant executives seem unconvinced.

I thought that last part was especially compelling, since we hear so much industry "analysis" pointing to massive upswings without any real social, technical or business resolution causing it. Going forward, I expect that the successful kiosk applications -- the ones that have really, really big adoption rates -- will be the ones that provide a significant benefit to both deployer and user. Just look at airport kiosks, as the Post article does. The airlines love them because they can complete a check-in transaction (by far the most common type of transaction handled at the airport) for as little as $0.14, whereas checking in with a rep behind the counter will cost the airline about $3. For the customer, the ability to bypass long lines and check in via a 30-second process on a kiosk means easier, less stressful travel. While these kinds of win-win situations are still the exception rather than the rule, there's no doubt that other self-service applications that fit this model will drive the next wave of kiosk adoption.

Tags: kiosks, self-service

Diebold voting machines are vulnerable to virus attacks

2007-08-05T15:59:00.001-05:00

Following up on last week's article about university researchers hacking lots of different kinds of voting kiosks comes this news from PC World. Apparently some voting kiosks made by Diebold, (who has already been in hot water for the security (or lack thereof) of their systems) are prone to remote exploits by certain kinds of computer virus. From the article:

Diebold Election Systems Inc. voting machines are not secure enough
to guarantee a trustworthy election, and an attacker with access to a
single machine could disrupt or change the outcome of an election using
viruses, according to a review of Diebold's source code."

The software contains serious design flaws that have led directly to
specific vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit to affect
election outcomes," read the University of California at Berkeley
report, commissioned by the California Secretary of State as part of a
two-month "top-to-bottom" review of electronic voting systems certified
for use in California. The assessment of Diebold's source code revealed an attacker needs only limited access to compromise an election.

"An attack could plausibly be accomplished by a single skilled individual
with temporary access to a single voting machine. The damage could be
extensive -- malicious code could spread to every voting machine in
polling places and to county election servers," it said.

The full report indicated four main problem areas for the software, including insufficient means for preventing hackers from installing malware on the machines, inability to guarantee the secrecy of ballots, no way to prevent election workers from tampering with the machines (and the ballots cast on them), and susceptibility to computer virii (which, let's be honest, is going to be a big problem as long as these devices continue to run on a regular MS Windows operating system).

Tags: electronic voting kiosks

Researchers hack nearly every kind of voting kiosk available

2007-07-29T21:26:00.000-05:00

Simply attempting to accomplish the goal stated in the title suggests that the researchers in question were hoping for a bit of free press. But given how important the transactions carried out by e-voting kiosks are, I hope they get a lot of it. According to this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, "state-sanctioned teams of computer hackers were able to break through the security of virtually every model of California's voting machines and change results or take control of some of the systems' electronic functions."

Now to be fair, the researchers were given the source code to the devices, as well as instruction manuals and physical access to the hardware itself, which isn't too likely to happen out in the real world. But given that two of the three items in question are a mere Internet leak away, it's reasonable to be a little bit worried about deploying these devices to hundreds of polling locations with minimal physical security come November.

Tags: electronic voting, kiosks

Can burn on demand DVD kiosks save Blockbuster?

2007-07-11T08:59:00.000-05:00

That's exactly the question that this article at Seeking Alpha asks about the movie rental giant. After all, we know that the DVD rental kiosk market has picked up considerably from the days when early pioneers like RedBox were testing out the business model. Yet, while some estimates indicate that we'll have over 10,000 of these devices in the US market by the end of 2007, the country's largest video rental retailer has been notably absent from participation. But rather than missing out on an "obvious opportunity," Seeking Alpha suggests that they may instead be passing up this wave of self-service devices in favor of the next generation terminal: a kiosk that would allow patrons to burn limited-time-use DVDs from a catalog of thousands of titles. The article speculates:

To a certain extent, Blockbuster will be interested in using the burn on demand kiosks in order to minimize real estate and cut down on employee costs, but the real benefit of the kiosks will be the new franchising opportunities that will open up to them. As the video store industry has gone into consolidation mode, Blockbuster’s franchisees have had a very difficult time adjusting to the new rental environment. Disagreements over the online program and the end of late fees has even caused one of their first franchise owners to sue Blockbuster for breach of contract. As the market has collapsed, attracting new capital has been difficult and Blockbuster has struggled in replacing this lost revenue.

Hardware and maintenance costs and licensing/security issues loom large as potential sticking points, but I really liked Seeking Alpha's notion that eventually Blockbuster's stores will look more like a Kinkos, with rows of terminals that can quickly produce any movie from a new blockbuster release to older, more obscure titles that don't often see the light of day (thank goodness for Netflix).

I'll say this: DVD rental kiosks make money. That industry as a whole has bucked the trend and once again proved that consumers really put convenience above all else. Fundamentally, burn-on-demand kiosks should play in the same space. However, CD burn-on-demand kiosks haven't fared as well, since it's fast and easy to download music right to a home PC. That's not the case (yet) for movies, but will it be enough to get consumers to embrace them? With a larger catalog of available titles, it would seem like a burn-on-demand kiosk would have more potential opportunities to reach out to increasingly fickle consumer audiences. But at the same time, the added cost and complexity of the devices could drive up rental prices or drive down overall profitability. (If you're new to the kiosk world you might want to take a look at WireSpring's series of pages and articles about kiosks).

Tags: Blockbuster, burn-on-demand, DVD kiosk

New York says e-voting software must be escrowed

2007-07-10T07:12:00.000-05:00

In a blow to Microsoft and all electronic voting systems based on their Windows platform, the New York State Assembly recently upheld a bid that will require all voting software -- including the operating system upon which it runs -- be placed in a secured escrow so that it may be examined by experts in the event of a questionable outcome. While makers of the voting software itself (notable Diebold) were vocal about having the clause weakened or removed, Microsoft was even more argumentative, as the source code to the Windows OS is one of its most closely guarded secrets. As Bo Lipari, executive director of New Yorkers for Verified Voting, noted in this ComputerWorld article,

"concerned citizens created a groundswell of support in the legislature to ensure the law remained untouched...

"We won for a change," he said on Friday. He estimated that about 3,000 constituent calls had been placed with the legislature about the issue. "There was a huge outpouring of support and the legislature noticed this. It was a forceful way to remind them to re-affirm their commitment to these strong laws."

New York State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, a Democrat from the 125th Assembly District, echoed that sentiment. "The voting machine vendors have known for two years what our laws said," Lifton said Thursday. "Now they're saying that those parts of their systems using Microsoft software have to be proprietary? It's just wrong. We're holding firm on our current state law which calls for open source code.

"This is one extremely clear-cut example (to me, at least) of where opening up the source code is absolutely vital. While we can all hem and haw about the relative security and technological merits of opened versus proprietary source code, when it comes to the politics and the law, which both seem to attract trouble and corruption, the right to review every last subroutine and function of a voting machine is something that I'd like to see more states with electronic voting initiatives require.

Given incredibly short and poor history of electronic voting technologies in the US, my gut feeling right now is that relying on the vendors of these products to be open and honest (and knowledgeable about their products) is just asking for trouble.

Tags: electronic voting, voting kiosks, e-voting

Improving self-service kiosks: taking a lesson from our IVR brethren

2007-06-16T16:35:00.000-05:00

MyCustomer.com is running a story about self-service of a different kind: interactive voice response (IVR) systems for call centers, those often-dreaded "press 0 from a touch-tone phone) automatons designed to improve efficiency by forcing the user down one of a number of predetermined paths to handle the most common call reasons.

While there are certainly numerous differences between this sort of self-service and the kiosk variety, the article raises some points that are equally applicable to both. Let's have a look at their list:

• Creating meaningful self-service solutions
"Self-service solutions improve satisfaction ratings by providing customers with instant access to information and services." While the article focuses on the combined use of live voice and IVR, we can certainly see how this would extend to in-store self-service solutions. Self-service solution providers can create meaningful transactions by providing a simple, good experience that delivers real value to the customer.

• Speak in a common language
"Your customers don’t always understand your jargon, including the names of products or services created by well-meaning marketing folks. Save the abbreviations, acronyms and nicknames for company memos and speak plainly to your customers." Again, the same is true for retail self-service. Just because your marketing department knows what your buzzwords and acronyms mean, that doesn't mean that your customers will. Given that many still approach interactive kiosks with some degree of intimidation, solution providers should work hard to ensure that the application being provided is intuitive and easy to understand.

• Make it fast and easy
"Don’t bombard your novice customers with too many options – you’ll just confuse them. Also, consider both novice and experienced users. This means you should enable 'barge-in' capabilities and give your 'power users' options for bypassing directions and prompts they don’t need." Again we can see a direct correlation with IVR and kiosk systems here. A good kiosk application should be optimized for the one or two key functions that will get used by the most people. The method to complete the function should be fast and easy, with as few touch screen or button-clicks as possible.

• Make it easy for callers to reach an agent
I'd re-write this one as "make it easy to get help." Whether this means using a live audio/video/chat button to get help directly from the device, or placing the kiosks in an area where sales staff can provide assistance if needed, depends on both the application and the environment.

• Treat callers with respect
Treat users with respect. Don't assume that the average user is a moron, but by the same token don't assume they're a computer genius either. Make your interface fast and simple, but not patronizing. Likewise, ensure that your support system -- whether electronic, human, or some combination of both -- understands that using a self-service terminal is a means to an end, and that they should be prepared to respectfully instruct patrons.

• Take errors seriously
"Do not insult callers with 'invalid input' responses. That might make sense to your IT department, but it won’t to your customers." Instead, make error messages clear, concise and easy to understand. Or better yet, make your application so simple that there's virtually no way to get an error message in the first place.

• Extend your branding when choosing your solution’s 'persona'
"A fabulous experience with your ... self-service solution will re-enforce your brand and build customer loyalty. Select [a solution] that will project the image and style of your organization." An unbranded or custom-branded kiosk application sticks out like a sore thumb. Take the extra time to integrate the system with the look-and-feel found elsewhere in the environment, taking cues from the brick-and-mortar location and the customer's web site.

• Personalize the experience wherever possible
Loyalty programs feed off of customers' love for being identified as "special." These programs do this by keeping a history of customer activity, and trying to provide helpful tips based on past purchases and habits. Self-service systems can certainly take advantage of this technique as well, though in general my preference is to opt for simple over customized. Per-customer customizations can potentially raise conversion rates and usage of the system, but they can also complicate the offering quite a bit, so that definitely needs to be taken into consideration during the planning phase.

Tags: self-service, kiosks

Channel M targets kiddie gyms for Hasbro/Playskool kiosks

2007-06-06T10:05:00.000-05:00

There's something both alluring and decidedly sneaky about marketing to children out-of-home. Of course, the same could be said for marketing to them in home as well, as anybody who has ever watched even just a half hour of Saturday morning TV will tell you. But outside of the home environment, there other factors that come into play - including the powerful but unpredictable mom-will-do-anything-to-get-the-kid-to-stop-crying - that makes out-of-home marketing to kids quite interesting.

Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so, too. According to this article at MediaPost, Channel M is installing interactive kiosks into 350 My Gym children's play centers with the goal of pushing Playskool and Hasbro products like Play-Doh:

Channel M has branded the cubbies and installed kiosks that display Hasbro's Play-Doh and Playskool products.
The agency bills the arrangement as an integrated partnership whose goal is to increase children's hand-eye coordination, dexterity, balance, and agility by joining Play-Doh products with select My Gym classes.
My Gym instructors include product samples for children ages 2 to 5, advancing kids' fine and gross motor, cognitive and sensory development, while playing with Play-Doh. And here you thought it was a toy.
In addition, children ages 3 and up who attend a birthday party at a My Gym Children's Fitness Center receive a booklet showing them how to make My Gym's mascot, Mymo the Monkey, out of Play-Doh. Parents can find a coupon in the booklet good toward Play-Doh's "Make 'n' Display" line of products.

Noting a correlation between Play-Doh use and manual dexterity is interesting, but I'd like to know how much that actually factored into the product/venue selection. I do think that the take-home booklet (undoubtedly filled with more soft marketing) is a great idea, though, since kids typically love those things, and any way of moving more brand messaging into the home (especially when the consumer takes it for themselves) must be viewed in a positive light by the manufacturers.

Tags: Channel M, interactive kiosks, retail marketing

Microsoft's Surface takes a new twist on touchscreen tech

2007-06-01T10:39:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the awful alliteration - hadn't noticed it until it was too late :) While Elo and others have offered infra-red (IR) and camera-based touch screens like the CarrolTouch for a while, and IBM has used them in products like the Anyplace Kiosk for a few years now, it took Microsoft to make them exciting and sexy for the mass market. Their new Surface technology combines multiple cameras together on top of a projection screen to create a multi-touch capable surface that takes the computer "desktop" metaphor to a whole new level.

While Microsoft has been pitching the thing as an interactive coffee-table type thing designed for in-home use, the $5-10K price tag ensures that the first few adopters will be a bunch of technophiles with too much spending money, and, more importantly, businesses trying to use the device to advance their own goals.

While most of today's crop of self-service applications are optimized for quick, streamlined user interactions that don't require the use of a multi-touch device (heck, the applications we deploy usually don't even allow for mouse dragging), as users become more tech savvy and applications become more complex, I think there could be applications that could make good use of such a novel interface.

Tags: interactive kiosks, self-service, Surface

MedCafe kiosks trades drinks for eyeballs

2007-05-23T11:36:00.000-05:00

Yes, Eyeballs... but not in the "eww, gross" way, in the advertising way (which I suppose is "eww, gross" for some people). As MediaSoon notes,

Japanese vending machine operator Apex and ad agency WillB are introducing vending machines that will give users a free or discounted drink if they are prepared to watch an advertisement that plays on the touch screen that’s also used to order the drinks. Apex is the country’s second largest vending machine operator and the ad funded freebies will include coffee and soft drinks. Ads will appear on the cups, too, with advertisers paying 70 to 80 yen (roughly 30p, 40 Euro cents or 60 US cents) per cup distributed.

Since it takes about 30 seconds to fill a cup with a coffee, espresso, cappuccino or juices, customers simply stand by and watch advertising on the screen instead of thinking about the quasi-convincing head of milk foam generated from a mysterious white powdery substance emitted from the machine, so it seems like a real win-win for advertiser and consumer alike.

MediaSoon notes, though, that too much success can be a good thing: "the drinks cost... 100 Yen. No surprise that the idea went down great. But WillB got a little more success than they bargained for - no less than 30,800 cups were drunk within a week." Of course, if the cost of the drink is subsidized -- and at between 70-80 yen for on-cup advertising and whatever they get per view of the digital media it looks like it should be -- this concept could take off in lots of high traffic areas where eyeballs might be even more valuable than hard currency.

Florida to ditch electronic voting kiosks

2007-05-07T08:58:00.000-05:00

Just three months after Florida Governor Charlie Crist suggested that maybe these newfangled e-voting kiosks weren't such a great idea, 15 counties, including the voting-challenged Broward and Miami-Dade, will get rid of their marginally useful electronic voting machines instead of widely tested optical voting machines that are used by most of the rest of the state, as noted by this article in the New York Times. The move will not only silence critics (like myself) who thought that the kiosks were error prone and easy to sabotage, but will also introduce a much-needed paper trail while making the overall voting process much more simple. The article notes:

The move is the nation’s biggest repudiation of touch-screen voting, which was embraced after the 2000 recount as a way to restore confidence that every vote would count. But the reliability of touch-screen machines has increasingly come under scrutiny, as has the difficulty of doing recounts without a paper trail.
“This legislation will preserve the integrity of Florida’s elections and protect every Floridian’s right to have his or her vote counted,” Gov. Charlie Crist said in a statement. “Florida voters will be able to have more confidence in the voting process and the reliability of Florida’s elections.”
With optical scanning, voters mark paper ballots that are counted by scanning machines, leaving a paper trail that remains available for recounts.
The 15 counties that will move to the optical scanning, which is in place in the state’s other 52 counties, account for about 51 percent of the state’s 10.4 million registered voters. They include Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Hillsborough Counties.
The plan, part of a bill that moves the state’s presidential primary to Jan. 29, was announced by Governor Crist in February. The Florida Senate voted for it last week, and the House of Representatives approved it unanimously on Thursday.

Honestly, people down here had a hard time punching a hole in a piece of paper, and the government's solution was to make them use a computer. I never understood how they came to that conclusion in the first place, but I'm certainly glad that they've decided to revert to a much more straightforward and highly-tested methodology.

e-voting, voting kiosks, electronic voting machines, florida

French parties call voting machines a 'catastrophe'

2007-04-25T08:36:00.000-05:00

Zut alors! Looks like the US isn't the only country having a trouble with its electronic voting equipment, as after spending several years out of the spotlight of the e-voting misadventure, three unlikely allies in the French political party system (namely the Socialists, the Communists and the Greens) united to call the kiosks a "catastrophe." These quotes from PhysOrg (an unlikely source I'll admit, but it's more of a tech issue than a political one I suppose), say it all:

Amid big queues in general to vote, people using the electronic machines were forced to wait up to two hours to cast ballots... Daniel Guerin, a member of the Paris regional council, made an official complaint to the Constitutionl Council because of "disfunctioning" machines in his constituency in Villeneuve-le-Roi, in the Paris suburbs.

The elderly had particular problems with the machines. Many said they did not believe the computerised system would keep their vote secret.

"I have come here twice and twice I have had to walk away without voting. It takes too long," said Pierre Bascoulergue, a pensioner in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris. "I just don't trust these machines."

The Issy town hall said the long queues were because of the huge turnout in the election.

In the champagne capital of Reims in eastern France a breakdown delayed the start of computer voting. The complicated machines further held up voting in the city during the day.

"It is total chaos, we don't understand anything," said 70-year-old Suzanne Antoine.

"You put your card in and it says 'continue'. Then nothing lights up. I managed to finish but I prefer the way it was before."

Researchers at Paul Verlaine University in Metz said that trials on two of the three machines used in France showed that four people out of every seven aged over 65 could not get their votes recorded.

Researcher Gabriel Michel, a psychologist, said the machines posed "enormous problems".

The computer has several buttons that allow electors to choose the candidate they want to back. There is also an "abstention" button for protest votes.

While the machines have caused a bit of an uproar during their first outing in a French presidential election, they were only used for about 1.5 million of France's 44.5 voters, so things clearly could have been much worse. Oh well, at least they weren't using Diebold machines...

Tags: electronic voting, e-voting, self-service, kiosks

NCR to step up their self-service presence

2007-04-23T08:21:00.000-05:00

A few months ago Self-Service World did an article about NCR's position in the kiosk industry, and whether they were expected to improve or decline in the market under the command of CEO Bill Nuti. While those who proffered opinions on the matter (myself included) were on the fence as to how and when NCR would make their move at the time, BusinessWeek picked up a story from the company last week indicating that they're definitely starting to focus more tightly on the self-service industry. The article notes:

Nuti hopes self-service terminals will be used by consumers to pay bills, renew driver's licenses, and buy bus and lottery tickets, gift and phone cards and even casino chips.

"There are legs for that business for the future," Nuti said.

He sees retailers expanding from self-service checkout scanners to self-service kiosks that offer multiple transactions. Retailers see it as a way to bring more customers into their stores, cash in on impulse purchases and create customer loyalty, he said.

Whether Nuti's workaholic style and attitude will allow him to drive NCR as a leader and innovator in the self-service field remains to be seen, but judging by his words (and some small actions so far), he certainly considers it to be a strategically important area for the company. Makes sense, given NCR's foothold in many of the world's top retail locations, as well as their expertise in tangential technologies like ATMs and POS systems.

Tags: NCR, kiosks, self-service

Airports try gaming kiosks

2007-04-19T08:33:00.000-05:00

Another good post from the Kiosk and Self-Service Blog points out that "Denver International Airport can now play one of roughly 19 computer games at individual stations located throughout the concourses" thanks to new self-contained Internet cafe-style kiosks courtesy of Zoox Stations and RMES Communications. For $0.25/minute, users can surf the Internet or play any one of a number of games while waiting for their Nor'easter-delayed flight to arrive.

Zoox and RMES have apparently noticed that anybody with a laptop capable of connecting to the airport's free WiFi connection suddenly doesn't need a cybercafe very much, and those lacking such hardware probably aren't the best market to go after anyway.

However, unless you have a really big, really expensive laptop, the gaming experience isn't up to par with the latest generation of high-def blockbuster games. That's why this kiosk makes sense. With more space and no need for portability, the devices feature huge 23" screens, enhanced graphics and sound, and plenty of room for whatever computer/console equipment is needed to run today's games.

Tags: Zoox, RMES, interactive kiosks, gaming kiosks

Making the case for music download burning kiosks

2007-04-19T08:08:00.000-05:00

The Kiosks and Self-Service Blog caught this blog article/rant on the music downloading kiosk industry, or rather, the lack of such an industry right now. Despite projects of varying success levels by Starbucks, Wal-Mart and TWE (via their holding in Mix-and-Burn), music kiosks still seem to be a hard sell. Maybe it's because anybody with an Internet connection can download music -- legally or illegally -- with ease directly to a CD-R or MP3 player. Maybe it's because the world's most popular MP3 player, the iPod, uses a proprietary DRM system. Or maybe it's just because people aren't primed to buy music when they happen to encounter these kiosks out in the real world. Enter Mediaport Entertainment, a Salt Lake City-based kiosk provider whose machines can be used to transfer audiobooks, music, games, ringtones, etc. to compatible devices. The company has just entered an agreement with Power Music (they supply of workout soundtracks and compilations), to help push the Mediaport kiosks into gyms and fitness centers.

While I know that I arrive at the gym with an iPod pre-loaded with tunes that I hope are going to give me some help during the next hour of aerobic hell, I love the idea of using the kiosk to push a value-added content product instead of individual tracks that could be downloaded anywhere, and I'd be much more likely to try out somebody's "ultimate 30 minute weightlifting mix" or "60 minute power walking tracks" compilation than use a kiosk to buy a random assortment of tunes that I could just have easily taken off of the net or downloaded from iTunes.

Whether this business model will work remains to be seen. But at least MediaPort has recognized the struggles of much larger competitors, and is working to address those challenges in a unique way.

Tags: MediaPort, interactive kiosks, music download

Coke to deploy contactless vending machines

2007-04-11T08:44:00.000-05:00

With all of the noise about contactless payment, biometric payment, RFID and even cellphone payment systems, it's not surprising to see that vending machines are being prepped to cash in on the contactless wave. As StorefrontBacktalk notes in a very brief clip, Coke is planning a line of vending machines that will support contactless payment methods. Noting that, "The United States is rapidly becoming a ‘plastic nation’ with fast food restaurants and convenience stores accepting credit and debit cards," Coca-Cola Marketing VP Thacher Worthen indiciated that Coke "feel[s] the time is right to begin providing these same payment options to our customers."

By handling less cash, the vending machines will have less wear and tear on their moving parts (though they'll still be capable of taking cash, of course), will theoretically require fewer service calls, and will be less of a target for thieves and vandals, since there ought to be less cash sitting in the machines at any given time.

Of course, for all of this to work, somebody will actually have to implement a contactless payment system that gets used in the US. Sure, I know they're all the rage in Japan and Korea. I've even seen a few people use them in Europe. But back here in the good ol' US of A, we're a few generations behind on portable technology, and despite the success of some contactless payment programs like Mobil's SpeedPass system, the concept hasn't really caught on yet. Perhaps with the plethora of new payment options available that will begin to change, but if Coke is planning a major deployment of the systems before a de-facto standard is established, they may be jumping the gun a bit.

Tags: vending, kiosks, self-service, contactless payment

MobilLime to merge with Cuesol

2007-03-28T06:52:00.000-05:00

According to this press release, Cuesol, a company that for me is synonymous with the shopping-cart mounted Shopping Buddy kiosks (now apparently renamed the Cart Companion) is planning to merge with mobile marketing firm MobilLime. The merger apparently comes with the goal of combining MobileLime's mobile loyalty and payment platform with Cuesol's kiosk and shopping cart solutions. Obligatory press release quote:

The merger with Cuesol offers the opportunity to measurably improve the shopping experience by bringing together cell phone-based rewards and promotions with interactive, self-service shopping," said Robert Wesley, president and CEO, MobileLime. "In combining the passion, creativity and technology of these two companies, we will continue to help retailers develop one-to-one relationships with their customers by transforming the retail shopping experience."

I personally like this one. While not the most obvious combination on first glance, Cuesol has demonstrated a willingness to try out unique ideas in order to improve the in-store experience, and I think that -- if done correctly -- mobile will be a natural part of that.

Tags: MobilLime, Cuesol, interactive kiosks

TNR Entertainment introduces 'Win Movies for a Year' promotion at DVD kiosks

2007-03-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

TNR Entertainment, providers of $1 DVD rental kiosks to a growing number of US grocery stores, has introduced what it calls an industry first: a new promotion that promises a year of free DVD rentals from the kiosks to a lucky group of winners. As this press release notes:

Every day of the promotion, one lucky shopper's name will be randomly chosen to receive free movies for a year. Shoppers can rent up to three movies per day. The winners will receive a New Release-branded Visa check card with $365, plus tax pre-loaded. No purchase is necessary to enter and both new and existing New Release renters are welcomed to participate. There are two ways to enter, either online at http://www.thenewrelease.com or with the mail-in entry form on flyers at TNR's rental kiosks.

Considering that the total cost of the prize is only $365 x the 45 winners they plan to have, this a great yet very inexpensive way for TNR to generate buzz, and possibly bump us usage of their kiosks at the same time. And usage they need: in order to keep up with their deployment schedule, the firm had to raise about $45M last year.

Tags: interactive kiosks, dvd rental kiosks, promotions

PayByTouch introduces kiosks to bring web-style analytics into retail

2007-03-14T07:05:00.000-05:00

PayByTouch has been using sophisticated biometric systems for payment acceptance for a while now, having installed their fingerprint readers in thousands of retail stores across the US. But up until now, their offerings were limited to fairly vanilla payment acceptance and loyalty program integration.

However, according to this article in Internet Retailer (and backed up by the original press release from PayByTouch), the system is already impacting 50% of store revenue in its installed locations, and has had offer redemption rates in excess of 20% (which is insanely high, even for "easy" card-based loyalty programs). Apparently, shoppers who have enrolled in SmartShop have also increased their visits by 10% over past years, which is also a critical metric for highly competitive grocery chains who are increasingly feeling competition from drug stores like Walgreens and convenience stores like 7-11 for quick "top up" shopping trips for a few items. PayByTouch's research into the system's performance also indicated a 5.1% increase in revenue growth average, 6.1% increase in consumer spending versus stores not equipped with the kiosk.

Granted those results were taken from a single trial grocer for a single month in 2006, so there's no telling how accurate they really are, however numerous in-store loyalty kiosk systems have been shown effective and well-received by customers, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the same reaction and results for this one.

While it's still going to take a bit of time for me to get used to the idea of using my fingerprint to get coupons, this kind of technology is becoming increasingly more common, so I expect that adoption rates will climb quickly if biometrics are shown to significantly improve loyalty program performance.

Tags: PayByTouch, SmartShop, interactive kiosks, loyalty programs

Adidas virtual shoe-fitting mirror

2007-03-09T09:50:00.000-05:00

It's a big screen, so maybe it's digital signage... but it's interactive so maybe it's a kiosk. However you classify it, though, a new device on display at Adidas's Paris store (more of an experience boutique, really), is really cool.

First noticed by Gizmag, the system uses a complex array of cameras, image processors and green-screen technology to track a customer's motions in real-time. Then, instead of presenting a true reflection, the "mirror" digitally paints shoes (Adidas, of course) on top of the customer's feet. The upshot is that a customer could conceivably stand in front of the mirror and virtually try out dozens of different styles and colors without having to send an attendant into the back room until the final selection has been made.

Another version of the software also lets the user simulate trying on different sportswear as well as shoes, upping the virtual shopping ante.

While there's undoubtedly a "cool factor" to the tech, there are a few practical purposes that could see it getting deployed more broadly. First, if it works properly, it could really speed up the process of trying on shoes (and clothes), make it much more efficient (since you'd need fewer salespeople). Second, you could dramatically reduce inventory space, allowing the shopper to purchase the shoes and have them shipped. While there's obviously a big benefit to letting the customer actually try on the product (since feet can be fickle), there's no reason to keep five different colors of the same exact shoe on hand. Similarly, if it takes off, this could be a good way to try out some basic product line extension, allowing customers to order specialty colors and styles that wouldn't normally make sense to physically stock due to low turnover.

MIT's Advertising Lab also has a brief post about it, as well as links to past articles that have used mirrors and screens to overlay virtual items onto real-world reflections.

Tags: Adidas, virtual reality, interactive kiosk, digital signage

Sony Ericsson prepping mobile phone music kiosks?

2007-02-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

Engadget is perpetuating an interesting rumor about new music download kiosks from Sony Ericsson. The post is pretty light on details and heavy on speculation:

... it's no secret that Sony Ericsson's here to stay in the mobile music space. Rumor has it that the joint venture's latest foray involves something mysteriously referred to as a "music kiosk" -- presumably a public, standalone box of some sort that blasts appropriately-equipped phones with tunes for a fee. Of course, the concept is anything but new, so we're not entirely sure what's going to set Sony Ericsson's effort apart; we still prefer the idea of getting our music served hot 'n fresh over the high-speed airwaves, but we suppose we could be swayed if it's cheap enough and compatibility falls beyond the Sony Ericsson domain.

I agree with the original poster. Pretty much everybody has some sort of music download kiosk these days, and with wireless speeds getting faster and faster, it's just not that compelling to have to go somewhere to buy music when it can be downloaded almost as quickly from the comfort of your own home/office/car/wherever you might decide to download.

Tags: Sony Ericsson, music download kiosk, self-service

Webraiser acquired by Flextronics

2007-02-14T07:56:00.000-05:00

And here I thought all of the hot M&A news was only happening in the digital signage space... According to this brief article at Kiosk Marketplace, WebRaiser is being acquired by outsourced manufacturing giant Flextronics.

Not a lot of detail thus far, and unfortunately neither Flex or WebRaiser have issued press releases (that I can find) yet, but considering that WebRaiser was privately held (and the acquisition would be too small to show up on Flex's $15B general ledger), we'll probably never know the intimate details like selling price, sales multiples, P/E and the like. According to the Sacramento Bee, Mark Breunig, WebRaiser's Senior VP and General Counsel, "confirms the sale and says a formal announcement is set for a trade show in April [noting that] 'We don't want to tip our hand to competitors.'"

Tags: WebRaiser, Flextronics, kiosk software

MediaCart aims to bring multimedia, interactivity to shopping carts

2007-02-10T11:27:00.000-05:00

MediaCart, the latest venture that aims to bring the lowly shopping cart into the 21st century, has announced the start of real-world trials of its interactive shopping cart technology, and claims it has "generated interest" from the nation's top 10 retailers. Of course, interest doesn't pay the bills, and Google is always ready to remind us about the numerous failures for this kind of project, however for some reason Advertising Age, a publication not exactly famous for their love of in-store media, seems to think that MediaCart has "cracked the code" and will be successful in its endeavors. The system uses a video screen at the front of the cart, where it's impossible to miss, unless you really over-load your cart. To promote acceptance, the system promotes a variety of "smart shopping" features, using navigation buttons on the cart's handle to let the user access features, promotions and coupons, and even activate a self-scanning feature that can dramatically speed up the checkout process when properly used. As the Advertising Age story also notes, the system integrates with loyalty programs that provide users with even more valuable information and offers in exchange for some personal and shopping information:

About 80% of MediaCart features will work without using individual consumer data, Mr. Carpenter said. That could overcome a sticking point not only for privacy advocates, with whom he said MediaCart has been in contact, but also for such retail giants as Wal-Mart Stores, Target and Walgreens, which don't have loyalty programs.

But the company concedes that at retailers with loyalty programs, shoppers will probably have to swipe their ID cards to benefit from promotional offers or special features such as downloading shopping lists from their computers or uploading recipes from the carts to their computers.

Whether MediaCart will be the one that makes it, or whether it will go the way of many other attempts to enable shopping carts with advanced technology remains to be seen. But obviously there's a lot that needs to be done before a company goes from "a few pilots" to long-term relationships with major retailers. So I say, good luck, MediaCart! If your predecessors were any indication, you may need it.

Past articles about this sort of thing include:
Giant experiments with grocery store of the future
Group suggests using shopping-cart kiosks...
Another article on the Shopping Buddy Kiosk

Tags: MediaCart, Shopping Buddy, Cuesol, shopping cart, in-store media, retail media

DVD burning kiosks to provide movies on demand

2007-02-05T08:23:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we noted that a consortium of companies were contemplating a new DVD format that would allow the proliferation of DVD-burning kiosks that could dispense copyrighted titles on copy-protected DVD media that could be played in most standard DVD players. Unlike CD-burning kiosks, DVD kiosks could offer a real innovation in the market, since it's still relatively difficult (and often illegal) to download and burn movies to DVD. As we noted in the previous article, the biggest hurdle was getting the big studios to accept the new DVD format, and the business model of burn-on-demand DVDs overall.

After all that, it looks like we may be getting ready to see the first wave of DVD kiosks soon. According to this article at MSNBC, "major film studios have given their backing to a DVD format that will allow shops to compete better with online retailers by selling a far wider selection of films. The DVD Download format features copyright-protection software that will allow stores to burn any one of thousands of movies on to a DVD while customers wait."

Obviously the biggest perceived benefit is that of product line extension -- being able to supply customers with more of the 65,000 DVDs that are out there without having to reserve more shelf space for each new title. Indeed, as Mark Ely, Sonic's Head of Corporate Strategy notes, "In the next three to four years, we expect 15-20 per cent of DVDs will become on-demand rather than being displayed on retailers' shelves."

Tags: DVD kiosk, interactive kiosk, self-service, Sonic

FL Governor Crist wants to ditch touch-screen voting kiosks

2007-02-02T15:34:00.000-05:00

I'm no fan of Florida's electronic voting machines, as I've noted numerous times in the past. Aside from numerous security concerns and the lack of any kind of paper trail, the screen layout can be confusing and the touchscreens are frequently unresponsive.

Apparently, I'm not the only one that feels this way, as new Florida governor Charlie Crist has decided that the machines aren't all they were originally billed to be (which, for the record, was a cure-all for the voting stupidity that overtook my state in the 2000 presidential elections), and wants to get rid of them in favor of optical paper reading ballot machines used by many other states, according to this article in the St. Petersburg Times.. Crist is expected to ask the state Legislature for over $30-million to replace the touch screen systems in 15 of the most highly-populated counties (including the now-infamous Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and my own home county, Broward) with an optical system that allows a voter to physically mark an circle next to the selected candidate’s name (thus leaving a physical record), and then slip the ballot into an electronic reader, providing instant feedback and verification.

I'm sure this saga isn't over yet, but at least there's hope in sight now, and the government is working to replace its previous mistake (which was really just a knee-jerk reaction to another previous mistake).

Tags: e-voting, voting kiosks, electronic voting machines, florida

Hooters-branded kiosks combine sports betting with good ol' Southern hospitality

2007-01-30T08:32:00.000-05:00

Rarely do so many vices come together in the form of a kiosk, but when they do, watch out! ISI Ltd. has deployed sports wagering kiosks to the Hooters Casino Hotel in Las Vegas. The establishment, which features 696 "Hooterized Florida-casual rooms" (whatever that means), plans to use the ISI kiosks to offer bettors a, "faster, more convenient method to place sports bets." As their press release notes:

The two orange iSports Stands, which display a photo of Michelle Nunes – Miss Hooters International and a blackjack dealer at Hooters Casino Hotel – are the first specially designed kiosks in Las Vegas. The iSports Stands are expected to be fully operational in time for the busiest sports book day of the year – Super Bowl Sunday.

“Hooters is a unique, world-famous brand with a very loyal following,” said Bill Stearns, president of ISI. “We designed the kiosks to attract curious guests to take a look and try this new technology. It’s very simple to place bets, and the kiosk can be open practically 24 hours.”

Stearns compares the machines to using the ATM at a bank instead of dealing with the teller.

“We believe once legal bettors experience the additional features like receiving special offers from our advertisers, checking weather during events, obtaining advice from a professional sports handicapper, booking show tickets or making golf reservations, they will prefer the kiosks,” he said.

ISI co-developed the iSports Stand with AWI Manufacturing, Inc. (AWIM). Acting as a stand-alone sports book, the iSports Stand provides the same services as an in-casino sports book. Also unique is the ability for local and national businesses to advertise on the kiosk’s video screen, side panels and through on-screen banner ads. This is the first time companies and products outside of the casino can reach guests on the gaming floor.

Tags: kiosks, self-service, betting kiosks, Hooters, ISI