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KioskCom 2004: An overview of the kiosk and self-service marketplace

KioskCom 2004 provided attendees the opportunity to learn everything there is to know about self-service ROI. One such opportunity was a presentation on future trends in the kiosk and self-service marketplace.

May 19, 2004

There are many benefits when attending a kiosk industry trade show. You can network with industry leaders, view the latest technologies and products, and learn about successful self-service projects. 

But KioskCom 2004 was more than a place to network and offered more than dazzling exhibits. This year's show provided ample opportunity to learn everything there is to know about getting the best ROI from self-service projects. 

One such opportunity was a presentation given by Bob Fincher, executive vice president of sales & marketing for NetWorld Alliance, the parent company of KioskMarketplace.com and Kiosks.org Association.

Fincher's presentation, a comprehensive overview of the self-service industry, was developed in collaboration with more than 20 industry experts who, collectively, have experience with more than 400 successful kiosks projects.

The experts included Dr. Sylvia Berens, vice president of Apunix, Bob Ventresca, director of marketing for Netkey, Francie Mendelsohn, president of Summit Research Associates, Doug Peter, president of St. Clair Interactive and Brad Tracy, director of product marketing retail solutions for NCR.

Fincher also presented results from two industry surveys of more than 500 kiosk professionals representing both suppliers and user/deployers.  He focused on the following key areas:

• Size, geographical breakdown and sectors of the self-service kiosk industry
• A brief history of the self-service kiosk Industry
• The promise and opportunities of self-service kiosks
• ROI factors
• Key ingredients of successful projects
• Problems to avoid regarding kiosk deployment

The future of self-service 

At first, kiosks were rarely profitable. The two most widely used kiosk applications in the mid-nineties were gift registries and job application kiosks.

But the industry has paid its dues and in 2004 kiosks have finally arrived, according to Fincher. He explained that growth in digital photo, quick serve restaurant, and digital downloads kiosks such as movies, music and software will be strong with the retail share of the total kiosk market growing by 50 percent from 2004 to 2014.

Currently ATMs, product information and ordering and airport ticketing/check-in are the most profitable applications.

The survey results also showed that kiosk growth will be fueled by the fact that consumers overwhelmingly want to control their own experience.  "By 2014, self-service access of important information in public environments will be commonplace," said Netkey Director of Marketing Bob Ventresca.

What are some of the perceptions driving kiosk growth? They include the beliefs that kiosks are solutions that provide real value, they are solutions that are easy to use and the content is more current and more relevant.

But there are challenges to kiosk growth, Fincher explained.  The challenges include budgets, customer acceptance and adoption, education, lack of support, and reliability issues. Toward the end of his presentation Fincher examined 10 big kiosk project pitfalls to avoid.  He closed his presentation with an overview of some successful kiosk projects and discussed the top requirements for kiosk deployment success.

Fincher's complete presentation is available for download by clicking here.