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Automated retail separates Legos, luxury goods from competitors

Signifi Solutions is an automated retail provider that sells a variety of items from games to luxury goods inside its vending kiosks. The company recently showcased its Lego kiosk at the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City.

February 13, 2015

Do consumers develop touch point blindness after scanning shelf after shelf looking for the right product at a big box department store?

It can be difficult for your product to stand out to consumers among the many lining the shelves. That's where automated retail can come to the rescue. According to Signifi Solutions CEO Shamira Jaffer, retail kiosks have the extra advantage of not only grabbing the customers attention with a sleek design, but of showcasing your brand only, allowing it to be the center of attention.

Signifi Solutions is an automated retail provider that sells a variety of items from games to luxury goods inside its vending kiosks. The company recently showcased its Lego kiosk at the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City.

Kiosk Marketplace spoke with Jaffer about the Lego kiosk and what automated retail can do for its customers.

Kiosk Marketplace:What are some of the features of the Lego kiosk?

Jaffer:What’s really cool about the Lego machine is that it has a digital screen in the center of it. It features movies and games, social media integration, and it scans QR codes for discounts. It draws a lot of attention because you can see the products clearly.

At about 9 feet long with a glass window, it can showcase larger and smaller items. It's a large storefront automated retail machine. We have a smaller version, about 5 feet long. The customers gravitate toward it. So many just want to pick up stuff for their kids — it's a great solution for airports.

Kiosk Marketplace: Why a Lego machine as opposed to another product?

Jaffer: It's a very cool brand. Normally people think of electronic products when they think of vending kiosks. For instance, they think of the Best Buy machine. This is a little more outside of the box.

Kiosk Marketplace: Why do people need a Lego machine? Why not buy them at the store?

Jaffer: If you think of Lego, it's all about traditional retail, but demand could be higher in non-traditional locations. With a kiosk you can create way more touch points. Legos can be sold in a hotel, for example.

Also, people are pressed for time. Whether you are a mother buying for your child or you're a grandparent, you don't have time to make separate trips, park the car, look for offerings, stand in line. The automated retail machine is convenient. I see it, I buy it, it is easy. Convenience is a big part of the value.  Plus, the kiosk puts a spotlight on your product. In Walmart or other department stores, you're competing with other products alongside yours on the shelf. With this machine, the spotlight is only on your products.

One big advantage is that it allows venues that deploy let their customers know they are very forward-thinking and modern. Not only does it drive customers, but the fact is they are now offering an additional service to customers. If you choose the right location for the demographics, it's a revenue share.

Kiosk Marketplace: What was Signifi’s collaboration with the Lego team on creating this kiosk? For example, what are some parameters you had to consider?

Jaffer:The biggest issue was that they wanted the machine to be able to hold the right variety of products, and also be able to showcase all the products so that they are visible. We did not want it to look like a vending machine. It needed the "cool" factor to match the Lego brand, so we had to consider speed of the service, and accommodate both large and small products for that.

Kiosk Marketplace:Is this product leased or rented — how does that work?

Jaffer:We will work with different models based on what the customer needs. Some buy it out right, some lease, and some rent for shows or conventions.

Kiosk Marketplace: What about the machine's ROI for customers who deploy it?

Jaffer: We always talk to customers with three key messages. ROI is about increased revenue, and with vending kiosks you sell more per square foot than any other channel.

It's curated to be more engaging and smaller so sales per square foot can skyrocket. Your costs also goes way down compared to retail: there's no cashier, no theft. Lastly, the brand exposure is great. Children are mesmerized watching the Lego movie playing, the whole customer experience is enticing. From a marketing perspective, the amount of branding the company gets is enormous, it does a lot for brand. And it allows collection of data, we find that with social media integration and touchscreen interaction, customers are more likely to up the data on a touchscreen when they can engage.

Kiosk Marketplace: Signifi has several automated retail kiosks that sell products. What are some of those?

Jaffer:We have several different types of products. Luxury goods have been very successful in the machines. One of our kiosks sells cufflinks. If you go to any men’s store you can find cufflinks, but in a kiosk it comes as a surprise. It puts the focus on them entirely, therefore sales increase. We also have bakery and electronics units.

Kiosk Marketplace: Why would a kiosk make people want to buy products?

Jaffer:Think about the auto industry. Automobiles are sold in a very traditional manner. A lot of auto companies are now saying, if we can give our consumers a different experience and way of marketing the brand, we can sell more products and build brand loyalty. In the case of Mini, their strategy is to sell some of their merchandise in the kiosk while allowing customers to sign up for test drive and interact directly with the brand and its products. Compare this to traditional retail, automated kiosks allow companies to be very forward thinking.