Kiosk Success Factor #2

In this series of blogs, I will describe the critical success factors that make or break a kiosk system - the things that determine whether the kiosks make money, or whether they are just a waste of space. For each characteristic, I will give examples of live kiosk systems that, in my opinion, have got it right.

The second factor I’d like to talk about is attraction. Kiosks must attract users to them. Ideally, they will be immediately recognisable for the useful function that they perform. If they have this quality, then they have achieved iconic status. If they have yet to reach that ideal, then they must advertise their presence and function, and they must be placed where users can find them easily.

Attraction: the quality of arousing interest

In my last blog, I said that a kiosk must deliver benefits to the user that are immediately obvious. Let’s assume our kiosk system has that quality. It might still go unused if potential users don't see it, or if they see it but don’t perceive what it has to offer them. You probably have only a few seconds to capture the user’s interest before they walk on by. So, what can you do to grab their attention?

Locate it where your customers go and where the footfall is greatest. This is often towards the front or centre of a store, but for the particular people you want to attract, it might be next to something else they tend to buy or do. However, there are two pitfalls here. First, don’t make the mistake of obstructing passers-by. Secondly, don’t create a situation where your users feel that they are in other people’s way or that they have privacy - more on this in a later blog.

Brand the kiosk using colour and decals. If you’re deploying hundreds of units, then it may be worth having a kiosk designed to meet your specific needs that looks like no other. That way, when your system takes off, your units will have iconic status. If you’re not ready for a custom-designed unit, then it’ amazing what can be done with colours, decals and other branding add-ons.

Advertise the presence of the kiosk with signs and use the screen to display an 'attractor sequence'. This is just a series of messages, images and video that shout out: "come and use me". Be careful with sound though. You must avoid interfering with other business or annoying passers-by. You can go one better by mounting a second screen above the kiosk to run the attractor sequence. This has the advantage of not interfering with the operation of the kiosk (it can run even when someone is using the machine) and it is also up above the heads of the crowd - if you are lucky enough to have one.

Cluster several kiosks together so that they create a bigger impact. This also leads to a kind of critical mass that actually draws in more users. Nowhere has this effect been better demonstrated than by Fujifilm’s digital photo kiosks at Harvey Norman stores in Australia. If you can get a buzz going, with lots of users around a cluster of kiosks, then the crowd will attract even more people. You then have the really nice problem of ensuring that no-one has to wait long to use a kiosk.

Iconic Status is achieved when the kiosd becomes well-known for what it does. RedBox is a great example of this. As are the Jobpoint kiosks in UK Jobcentres. They have such a distinctive shape that they are immediately recognisable by anyone who has seen one before.

Kiosk Success Factor #1

In this series of blogs, I will describe the critical success factors that make or break a kiosk system - the things that determine whether the kiosks make (or save) money, or whether they are just a waste of space. For each characteristic, I will give examples of live kiosk systems from Neo’s portfolio and beyond that have got it right.

The first, and probably most important, factor is Utility. Kiosks must be immediately useful, helpful or rewarding to their users. This may seem obvious, but the number of nicely designed kiosks out there with very low usage suggests that many kiosk owners have got this wrong.

Utility: the quality of being of practical use

A kiosk must deliver benefits to the user that are immediately obvious. That person will pause for only a few seconds to decide whether to use the kiosk or to do what comes more naturally to them - i.e. to seek assistance from another human being. Of course, you could force them to use the kiosk by removing the alternatives, but that is a bold strategy. The positioning of kiosks and adding signage to them in order to attract attention are also vital, but I shall deal with that in a later blog.

The list of useful things that kiosk systems can be designed to do for your customers is long and growing ever longer. For example: they are excellent for giving way-finding information; they can process straightforward transactions quickly; they can allow people to bypass queues; they can help customers find your products, do price comparisons and order items that are out of stock; they can enable people to help themselves to services that were previously mediated by your staff. I could go on. The key is to think first about what the kiosk does for your customer. Save thinking about how your enterprise can benefit until you’ve cracked that one. You won’t make sales, or save staff time, or give a better service through kiosks that your customers choose not to use.

One of the best examples of kiosk utility is at the stores of UK catalogue retailer: Argos. When I went into my local Argos store last year to buy Christmas presents it was very busy. I faced a clear choice. To my right was a long queue to order and pay for items at a checkout. To my left was a bank of kiosks (some being used and some not) offering the same function on a self-service basis. It was a 'no brainer'! In fact I went there because I hate Christmas shopping and I wanted the process to be quick and easy.

Another example is at the UK music, video and games retailer HMV. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this but the moment I walk into a music store I immediately forget the long list of music that I’ve been meaning to buy. I don’t have to worry about this at HMV because they have installed kiosks from Neo that allow customers to search a database of all their products in helpful ways. The kiosk plays you a sample on headphones, tells you whether it’s in stock and, in some stores, allows you to order the item for home delivery or download.

Both of these systems have utility. Users customers don't have to use them - there is an alternative - but the advantage they gain makes them want to do so.

DVD Vending Machines Arrive in Europe

The Redbox DVD rental kiosk has been hugely successful in the States. The units are installed in over 19,000 locations and more than 350 million movies were rented from them in 2009. The process is relatively quick. You use a touch screen to select the film, insert your credit card, and the machine uses internal robotics to dispense the DVD. You can return the DVD to any Redbox location, and, if you’re an iPhone user, you can rent DVDs from your phone and tell the system which Redbox kiosk you want to pick it up from. In addition to a selection of the most popular DVDs, most of the machines also carry Blu-ray disks and Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii games. Rental store giant Blockbuster has risen to the challenge by launching its own kiosks in the US. And now the concept has arrived in the UK. Movie Booth is a newly created brand that supplies Redbox-style kiosks to retail stores in UK and Ireland. So far, they have installed two dozen or so machines in some Tesco, Spar, Budgens and other stores. But all of these systems offer a very limited range of titles, so they will be of little interest to movie buffs or to those looking for a classic movie from the past or something slightly obscure.

This limitation can be addressed by burning DVDs on demand or by downloading titles onto USB drives or memory sticks. The obstacle to this has been (up to now) slow download speeds. Customers do not want to wait long to get their rental movie. But a new video-rental kiosk that allows consumers to download films, TV programmes and games is about to be released in the States. The MK3 DVD+Digital kiosk, developed by Californian firms Symwave and XONA Media, will utilise advanced USB 3.0 technology to achieve faster transfers and make the purchasing process fast and simple. They promise that the entire transaction will take less time than getting cash from an ATM.

Another advantage of the download approach is that the titles are automatically deleted after viewing, thus saving the customer the return trip to a kiosk. It remains to be seen whether enough people feel comfortable yet about using USB devices in this way. The success of RedBox shows that DVDs are still the media preferred by the masses. We suspect that we’ll see a wave of DVD rental kiosks sweep Europe before download kiosks gain mass-market acceptance.

Nevertheless, NeoProducts has already developed a prototype kiosk that burns DVDs on demand, and we stand ready to play a leading role in the rollout of digital download kiosks.