Article

Golf and kiosks: A cozy fit

St. Clair Interactive Communications earned an Interactive Kiosk Excellence Award by developing a custom-fitting golf shoe kiosk with FootJoy.

May 7, 2002

(Editor's note: In March, the inaugural Interactive Kiosk Excellence Awards were handed out at the Rosen Center in Orlando, Fla. The awards, sponsored by KioskCom, honored kiosk excellence in six different categories, including software, enclosure designs, and applications. Starting this month and running twice monthly through July, KIOSKmarketplace will profile the winners in each category.)

Wearing the perfect shoe may mean the difference between a good day and a bad mood for many golfers. But it can also reap recognition for one Canadian kiosk veteran.

On March 5, during the KioskCom trade show and conference in Orlando, Fla., St. Clair Interactive Communications and its president, Doug Peter, nabbed an award at the inaugural Interactive Kiosk Excellence Awards for his company's golf shoe-fitting kiosk. The kiosk, designed for Fairhaven, Mass.-based FootJoy, was first deployed about six months ago to help the shoe company assist its customers while overcoming obstacles created by high employee turnover rates.

St. Clair won first place in the Best Retail Application for that particular unit, garnering praise from the judges on the kiosk's user interface.

"Well, we're obviously very pleased after such a long time in the industry," Peter said of the award. "Some of the judges were kind enough to comment on the quality of the user interface, which is something we pride ourselves on."

That pride is reflected in the way the company approaches its work.

"It's bringing the end user together with the power of the system and maintaining ease of use," Peter said of the company's philosophy. "Those are the three parts of the triangle that we try to bring together. There's a huge amount of software involved in this project, but it's all hidden. The customer doesn't feel they're using a computer as such and that's our real source of pride is to get comments like that."

The FootJoy scanner earned St. Clair and FootJoy an Interactive Kiosk Excellence Award in the category of Best Retail Application.

Officials at FootJoy are not surprised by St. Clair's accolades.

"If anything it's exciting to know that a project such as ours and us being a pioneer in what we're trying to do has won them that recognition," said Alice Carter, FootJoy's laser fitting team leader. "I don't think it's a surprise. I think it's almost kind of an expected thing."

The pairing

The FootJoy-St. Clair partnership began 18 months ago when the golf-shoe manufacturer approached St. Clair to integrate that company's software with FootJoy's scanning technology.

"Basically what we had out in the golf footwear market was a fitting station which required an operator," Carter said. "We found that that became a little too time consuming. There's a high rate of retail turnover resulting in the need for a kiosk for touchscreen technology to make it easier for the consumer to be serviced."

After brainstorming and researching the kiosk industry, FootJoy signed on with St. Clair.

"They decided what they needed was a packaged solution that the customers could operate themselves," Peter said. "That's when they came to us."

Said Carter of St. Clair: "It's a smaller company (which) pays more attention to details. Pretty much what we needed at the time."

St. Clair's size and longevity are just a few of the company's selling points. The Toronto-based business has been in operation for 18 years. Peter credits his survival to the company's focus on end-users, their client's customers.

"I've seen obviously dramatic improvements in the capability and reliability of hardware and networks," he said. "I've seen the creative evolution in terms of technology base and I have seen thousands of companies come and go because they never understood the end user."

Snug as a Â…

The FootJoy project typifies St. Clair's retail philosophy, Peter said.

"We start with the person who's touching the screen," he said. "Basically the FootJoy project combines several innovations. It combines a self-service environment that is easy to use and robust together with a real business need and a real customer need, end user need, shopper need."

The FootJoy kiosk developed by St. Clair Interactive Communications allows users to check out product lines and be fitted for new shoes.

FootJoy's laser fitting technology, powered by St. Clair's catcode software, creates a 3D picture of the customer's feet. That information is then enhanced with survey answers regarding that customer's golf game.

"Do they ride in a cart or do they walk?" Peter said. "Do they play in the rain or the early morning or do they only play when the weather's nice? Those are all factors that help us determine which product is best for this person."

Three kiosks have been created. Each unit, which includes a laser and mirror system that controls the scanning process, costs upwards of $30,000.

Of the three units, two of the kiosks are in the testing stages and one has been deployed at the Edwin Watts Golf Shop in Orlando, Fla. To use it, customers simply sit down, take off their shoes, and place their feet on a scanning board.

Tee times

Usage numbers are difficult to interpret because the project is new and only one unit has been deployed. But St. Clair and FootJoy officials have been pleased with its response. Peter said dozens of industry figures lined up to have their feet fitted at the 2002 PGA Merchandise show in Orlando this past January. Carter said a similar response has been seen at Edwin Watts. Research is currently underway to get exact figures on just how much the kiosk has improved business.

"Overall, it's been well accepted by the consumer," Carter said. "It's helped the shop generate sales, sell shoes. Just overall I think it's a great tool in the store."

So will this lead to future projects between FootJoy and St. Clair?

"There are a number of extensions in discussions," Peter said.

St. Clair is currently expanding its associate training program where shop employees use a magnetic-striped card to gain access to the kiosk's database of instructional materials and product information. The company is also building a database of each customer's shoe fitting and profile responses -- all to be uploaded and stored centrally.

It is work that should keep St. Clair and FootJoy working together for a long time. Carter said it is also proof that FootJoy made the right decision 18 months ago.

"I can tell you that we've had a really great relationship with them from the onset and our project has been pretty successful because of their expertise in the field," she said.