Wise marketers are 'best in class' for in-store kiosks

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on August 13, 2007

Wise marketers are 'best in class' for in-store kiosks

The Wise Marketer's subscribers who recently took part in the Aberdeen Group survey on improving customer experiences using self-service kiosks turned out to be well above average when benchmarked against all other respondents, with 50% of our faithful readers being ranked as 'best in class' and only 2.5% being 'laggards'.

The survey examined all aspects of the use of self-service kiosks, and several differences were noted between The Wise Marketer's members and the average responses.

Key points of difference Improving service touch points is a vital element driving self service kiosk strategies in the retail, hospitality, and financial services industries. The recent survey of 260 companies found that that best-in-class companies are experiencing a kind of "Kiosk Nirvana", not only improving the overall customer experience but also increasing bottom line profitability by enhancing service with a combination of automated and non-automated facilities.

Specifically, findings from the survey for The Wise Marketer's members ('TWM') compared to all others ('AA') were as follows:

  • Question: Top pressure experienced at the store or business unit

    TWM: 63% Customers are less tolerant of long transaction times.

    AA: 45% Customers are less tolerant of long transaction times.  

  • Question: The top 2 store operations related pressures your company experiences at the store or business unit

    TWM: 51% Improve business competitiveness and service differentiation, and 51% Improve store operations workflow (inventory management, customer service management, employee management, execution of company programs, back office functions, etc.)

    AA: 52% Improve business competitiveness and service differentiation, and 53% Improve store operations workflow (inventory management, customer service management, employee management, execution of company programs, back office functions, etc.)  

  • Question: The top 2 strategic actions your company is taking in response to the above pressures

    TWM: 63% Improve training for employees/sales force, and 45% Encourage multi-channel selling at a store or business unit.

    AA: 64% Improve training for employees/sales force, and 39% Encourage multi-channel selling at a store or business unit.  

  • Question: Use of kiosk technology

    TWM: 10% Currently use kiosk technology at a majority of retail locations, while 20% Currently use kiosk technology at certain strategic retail locations, 45% Do not use kiosk technology currently but are exploring its use in the future, and 25% Do not use kiosk technology currently and are not considering it.

    AA: 6% Currently use kiosk technology at a majority of retail locations, while 18% Currently use kiosk technology at certain strategic retail locations, 44% Do not use kiosk technology currently but are exploring its use in the future, and 33% Do not use kiosk technology currently and are not considering it.  

  • Question: Kind of kiosk currently used/planned for use in store/business unit

    TWM: 38% use PC-based kiosks mounted on countertops, and 62% use standard kiosks.

    AA: 54% use PC-based kiosks mounted on countertops, and 46% use standard kiosks.  

  • Question: Top communication method used at kiosks

    TWM: 54% LAN (wired).

    AA: 66% LAN (wired)  

  • Question: Top frequency with which kiosk key performance indicators are measured

    TWM: 35% Weekly, and 17% Monthly.

    AA: 27% Monthly, and 24% Weekly.  

  • Question: Top 2 areas expected to achieve ROI from kiosk implementation

    TWM: 60% expect to improve the customer shopping experience, and 33% expect better utilization of labour in retail stores (i.e. a net productivity gain).

    AA: 50% expect to improve the customer shopping experience, and 35% expect better utilization of labour in retail stores (i.e. a net productivity gain).  

  • Question: Top projected timeline for achieving ROI from kiosk implementation

    TWM: 8% in

    AA: 21% in  

  • Question: Top actual payback period for kiosk implementation

    TWM: 8% in

    AA: 13% in  

  • Question: Has your kiosk implementation met your expectations?

    TWM: 60% said Yes, while 40% said No.

    AA: 70% said Yes, while 30% said No.  

  • Question: Reasons why company has not chosen to implement kiosk technology or has limited the number of kiosks implemented

    TWM: 90% of those not using kiosks did so only because their retail needs could not be addressed by a kiosk.

    AA: 57% of those not using kiosks did so only because their retail needs could not be addressed by a kiosk.

Follow the best in class When it came to best-in-class kiosk users, the survey found that 100% had reduced labour cost in the sales function, while 88% reported improvements in customer satisfaction, and 63% reported improvements in customer conversion rates.

Best-in-class companies are also twice as likely as Average and Laggard companies to provide their customers with the ability to look up product information through self service kiosks, and 1.5 times more likely to provide customers with the ability to order and pay for products and services through self service kiosks.

According to Robert Fort, director of IT for Virgin Entertainment, North America, "Our point of service kiosk application is just perfect because it enables us to include music titles that customers need. This gives us the ability to keep the total footprint below 700 megabytes while at the same time reducing licensing fees."

Download the report The full report and survey findings have been made available for free download from Aberdeen Group's web site - click here (free registration required).

For additional information: ·  Visit Aberdeen Group at http://www.aberdeen.com ·  Visit Wise Research at http://www.wiseresearch.co.uk