Retail Kiosks for a Brand's Success

How a retail kiosk is set up can have a major impact on how successful the business is!  Retail kiosks are often the initial point of contact between brands and their customers.  Focusing more on personalized interactions will contribute to a brand's success.  This means the kiosk should offer a platform that enhances the customer’s experience, gathers valuable data, and in turn, boosts sales.  The following article discusses all about retail kiosks for a brand’s success.

Enhanced Customer Experience

Designing a retail kiosk that focuses on the customer’s experience will be of benefit to more than solely the kiosk’s visitors.  There are advantages for the brand as well!  A proper retail kiosk will be efficient and informative, thus making the customer feel catered to and appreciated.  This is done in many ways, as follows. 

Decreased Wait Times

Indeed, well-designed retail kiosks will reduce wait times for customers!  In general, self-service kiosk options can expedite transactions for quicker purchases.  This is always appreciated by consumers!  However, it also opens the floor for businesses to serve an even greater amount of clients while hiring fewer staff.

For this to be successful, considerations must be made to ensure the process runs smoothly for clients.  With advancements in technology, there’s always a possibility the client will require aid during their use of the kiosk.  Whether this is due to the technology being new or a plethora of other possibilities, this is why it is important to have a properly trained staff on-site.

Personalized Interactions

With technology being integrated into the retail kiosks, customers can have a more personalized shopping experience.  With kiosk services that are tailored to their needs, clients feel taken care of.  For example, retail kiosks can offer product recommendations, tailored promotions, and loyalty program integration for a more rewarding customer experience.

Information and Support

Retail kiosks should be seen as digital assistants that provide individualized support for each client.  Keeping the retail kiosks updated with the most current information ensures clients have access to resources that better serve them.  This information can provide clients with details concerning promotions, products, maps/store locations, and much more.  

Kiosks can also provide information to clients who may not have the time to linger at that exact moment.  For example, when equipped with QR codes, customers can quickly scan the code to be brought to a main page for later use.

Easier Navigation

If customers are unable to find what they’re looking for, they will quickly move on to a simpler option.  Retail kiosks can help customers find what they’re looking for easily and efficiently.  Wayfinding kiosks, for example, guide users through the area.

For example, in stores like IKEA that offer endless products, having navigation tools provided by a retail kiosk provides an easier customer experience.  Clients can find exactly what they need, and it also encourages them to explore new products nearby.

Simpler Payment Experience

Most retail kiosks are now equipped with bill-payment options that make the experience fast and secure for clients.  Users can skip the long check-out lines as self-service bill-payment solutions strive to further improve the retail experience.  This allows for more employees to remain available to assist customers in the other steps of the sale process.  Thus, providing a better service.

Reduced-Cost Marketing

Additionally, retail kiosks can range in size depending on the brand’s needs.  Typically, their smaller and more temporary nature allows them to fulfill low-cost marketing strategies.  For example, malls and expos may charge kiosk owners a lower cost for rent than what is charged for those with larger retail spaces.  

This is especially useful for newer businesses and entrepreneurs.  They get the same opportunity to advertise and have face-to-face interactions with potential customers yet at a lower cost.  

Low-Cost Advertising

Retail kiosks are clearly useful for customers and they are equally as helpful for the brand’s themselves.  Brand kiosks can be used to showcase certain products, information, and promotions.  With the use of multimedia content, it can help to drive sales and create a wider span of brand awareness. 

These forms of advertising often result in a quick return on investment for brands.  This ROI can then be used to improve other areas of their business.  It creates a cycle of better business decisions as these resources can allocated to where the business will benefit the most from them.

Digital Publicity

Retail kiosks have greatly improved since the days of their set-ups consisting of large banners and tables.  Retail kiosks provide consumers with access to the products more conveniently and engagingly.

Digital publicity enables ads to be displayed in various ways rather than a one-size-fits-all option.  Advertising content can be done via interactional text and audio, digital photos, and videos.  These forms of engaging and simple-to-view/use content make it easier to expand consumer reach.

Endless Aisles

Blending offline and online retail has become the industry standard these days.  It offers a personalized experience for shoppers that meets customer's demands. This allows businesses to expand what they offer and how.  In times when online platforms are increasingly becoming competition for physical stores, endless aisle retail helps brick-and-mortar retailers by allowing them to offer their products without the constraints of a physical space. 

With endless aisles, customers can easily access the retailer’s entire catalog directly from a digital portal at the kiosk.  This allows them to see if an item is out of stock and which locations have them in their inventory.  This prevents customer loss due to lack of stock as they aren’t pushed toward viewing a competitor’s product availability.  Instead, they can have the product shipped directly to them, or transferred to a more convenient store location.  They can also reserve the item and visit the location that has it available to purchase it in person.  

Endless aisles are also perfect for situations when retailers are providing the sale of their products and services in a showroom setting.  Here, they tend to have a sample product for clients to view and/or test, and then the purchase transaction is finalized through the kiosk.

For retailers, any order placed through the endless aisle method is processed through the same fulfillment and logistics channels as online purchases.  The process consists of integrating e-commerce tools with whichever inventory management system is used.  It will be a unified shopping platform that makes the experience easier for both the customer and the brand.

Increased Sales and Revenue

Anyone who has ever worked in sales, or who has spoken with a salesperson understands that upselling and cross-selling is an art.  Customers can spot it coming from a mile away and they often try to avoid it.

Interactive retail kiosks can suggest complementary products or offer promotions without going into minutes-long spiels.  Often, these promotions are attractive to customers and result in an increased average transaction value.  Overall, retail kiosks can help to facilitate boosts in sales through simple and enticing offers such as promotions, packages, and discounts.

Gain Customer Loyalty

Last but not least, retail kiosks help businesses to gain loyalty from their customers.  After already having a hassle-free experience due to the kiosk’s ease of use, the transaction can also include a quick, in-store survey.  

Surveys such as these collect consumer insights that retailers can use to create an even more improved experience for their customers.  Customers should (and must) feel like they are truly appreciated.  By showing interest in their experiences, thoughts, and suggestions, customers will know their opinions are valued.  This leads to customer retention and is the basis for a long-lasting business relationship.

The Ideal Retail Kiosks to Ensure Your Brand’s Success

As demonstrated, a well-designed retail kiosk can significantly impact your brand's success.  To create a functional and visually appealing space and service for clients, the focus should be on providing the most streamlined and hassle-free shopping experience.  This ensures relationships with both current and future customers will flourish.

For all of your retail kiosk needs, contact Octametro.  With nearly 40 years of experience, our kiosk solutions will significantly improve your customer relationships and overall success.  Message us today or call us at +1(305) 715-9713.