Kiosks: The essential elements of attraction that engage millions

Kiosks: The essential elements of attraction that engage millions
Tags: Airport Kiosks, CETW, Customer Experience, Digital Signage, Healthcare / Hospitals, Kiosk Branding, Kiosk Design, Kiosk Enclosures, Kiosk ROI, Multifunction Kiosks, Retail, Retail Digital Media, Retail Digital Signage, Retail Self-Service, Return on Investment, Tradeshows
May 9, 2011

Before the crowds poured into Customer Engagement Technology World in San Francisco last week, I stood in FMA's booth and pondered the power of self-service technology to positively impact millions of lives. We are an industry with staying power that now engages so many aspects of daily living. Where we once described ourselves as a non-traditional, we are now clearly mainstream to consumers and essential to the success of retailers.

In our booth alone, we showcased kiosks that can facilitate access to healthcare for millions, reduce anxiety and smooth the journey for busy travelers and streamline the experience of time-starved grocery shoppers.

The KEO Connect Mobile Phone Charging Kiosk, located in Major Hudson News stores in airports, keeps travelers engaged. It is an interactive free-charging, digital display and information kiosk, equipped with updatable video content and touch- screen technology. While their phones are charging, travelers can access flight information, news, weather, entertainment, concierge services and download digital music, movies and e-books on the kiosk or can shop, browse and dine in another airport location.

The KEO kiosk's enclosure is straightforward, bold and scaled for an airport concourse. The unit is designed to make an instant impression on a moving target: airport travelers.

The Industry Award-winning, SoloHealth Station unveiled at CETW facilitates access to healthful information for those who may have limited health-care options and are looking for the path to a healthful lifestyle. It is being developed to provide free self-service health screenings of vision, blood pressure, weight and body mass index. It delivers an overall health assessment and access to a database of local healthcare providers that can be contacted through the kiosk to make appointments – all in a matter of minutes. Users can track their results over time.

The SoloHealth Station is engineered to educate and communicate with digital signage from advertisers on top, changeable stationary graphics on the side and an interactive touchscreen for users.

Ergonomic design is a key element in this health-screening kiosk. It features a bar that serves as a back rest and stability aid; a seat that accommodates a range of body types; a blood pressure cuff that is flexible; and soft, curved lines that are inviting.

The Giant Foods Loyalty Shopping Solution Kiosk allows customers to create their own personal shopping experience. Shoppers can gather a shopping list, get assistance in meal planning, receive personalized offers and reference information on their loyalty card. They can also check prices and locate items on their own.

The Giant Foods Shopping Kiosk makes the shopping experience more efficient, and its sleek design is in keeping with this objective. It was engineered with economy of space in mind.

What binds these kiosks with such diverse objectives together is the human engagement and retail experience elements that I think assure their longevity. To be clear, they also deliver on the objectives of their deployers, who are our customers.

They focus on authentic consumer needs and give us a sense of control. Users are empowered to meet the essential requirements of their lives. There's no fluff involved in charging your cell phone, getting where you need to go, obtaining basic information that facilitates well-being or feeding your family.

All of these kiosks employ the sticky and engaging user interface I talked about in a breakout session. The interactions are unique and personal. They are, wait for it...Engaging the consumer in a Retail experience that is intuitive, helpful and satisfying, first time every time that has created trial and now loyalty for the consumer.

They integrate services with powerful messaging. Every kiosk quickly and succinctly delineates what it can do for the user. Self-service and digital signage work in combination to draw passersby into exploration and usage of the unit.

Finally, form follows function. The design flows from a thorough understanding of purpose, customers' needs and a consideration of location.

How we deliver customer interaction from a technology perspective will continue to evolve. (The presence of the new multi-touch integration by Nanonation and Touch Revolution in our booth is proof.) Adhering to the core elements that define success of self-service projects will ensure we continue to deliver the holy grail of meaningful interaction that our customers seek and our ultimate users have come to expect.

Looking ahead we are designing and engineering for a new generation for whom reliance on screens of all types is intuitive. Ed Crowley, principal and VP for EuroTouch Kiosks, coined the demographic for our industry at the pre CETW Board meeting in San Francisco; the generation coming up can be thought of as "Screenagers." Ed nailed the future call to action we will all be addressing for our clients and their consumers moving forward.

To this new call to action, I would like to coin my own Metric for the Millennia. I suggest we will be measuring the success of our deployments not in ROI, Return on Investment, but more by ROE, the Return on Engagement that our solutions will offer millions of consumers.