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Kiosks go SoLoMo: A look at the trends of 2013

The integration of mobile technology and social media played key roles in the kiosk industry's growth in 2013.

December 18, 2013 by Natalie Gagliordi — Editor of KioskMarketplace.com, Networld Media Group

Having once been left for dead in a commoditized jungle of interactive technology, the kiosk and self-service industries saw a bit of cohesiveness returning in 2013. The battles pitted between various kiosk form factors seemed to subside as the industry shared a common goal — giving end-users a seamless interactive experience.

So how did the industry manage to sidestep the damages of hardware wars and fragmentation? Essentially, it was done once manufacturers began embracing the trends that cater to the nature of seamless experiences: Mobile and social media.

There is no escaping the m-word. Mobile is on everyone's radar — from marketers and payment solution providers to retailers and restaurants. Retail's utilization of mobile has been particularly robust. Retailers have figured out how to harness the power of mobile, using it to increase the effectiveness of interactive displays, build brand loyalty, gather shopper data and revamp marketing campaigns with geo-location services.

Over the past year, interactive kiosks have cozied up to mobile in a big way. The devices work together to allow end-users unlimited access to content, products and services, while also offering the customization and control over the experience that consumers now expect.

Take Apple's iBeacon. The micro-location based mobile communication that iBeacon enables offers the promise of highly relevant mobile messaging not just in retail, but also in entertainment venues, museums, transportation sectors and beyond, according to Ron Bowers, the SVP of business development at Frank Mayer and Associates.

"Retailers whose mobile strategies have matured to the point of offering targeted in-store engagement have a potentially exciting new tool," Bowers said. "A beacon could be built into a display or interactive piece that intercepts shoppers in close proximity to the unit or upon entering a store or department. It could send a prompt to engage, a purchase incentive, or information."

Gary Pageau, principal at InfoCircle and blogger for Kiosk Marketplace, said that retailers with photo kiosks have also benefited from the success of mobile with the use of geo-fencing. Retailers struggling to justify a fleet of kiosks, with the attendant updates, upgrades and maintenance, may find an answer in a localized app, he said.

"Retailers are finding success with print-to-store apps, so the next logical extension will be print in-store apps, which could offer coupons or special offers to those customers who place photo orders while physically inside stores," Pageau said. "This will drive foot traffic and incidental sales, while rewarding the best customers, not just the ones seeking cents-off deals. Offers can even be targeted to specific customers, based on their purchase history."

Payments and kiosks

Payments are another area where kiosks and mobile made joint strides this year. Rob Goehring, chief marketing officer at the bill-payment processing platform TIO Networks, said the opportunity to leverage kiosk and mobile in the user experience was one of the three top trends of 2013.

"We are seeing more self-service solutions that combine the ability to walk-in with a 'staged' transaction on a consumer's mobile device, where the transaction can be completed at the kiosk," he said. "This level of interactivity is definitely going to push some innovation in the market."

The remaining trends of 2013, according to Goehring, include the rise of new form factors and the continued rise of prepaid cards.

"Many convenience stores and other locations are interested in 'all store' programs for alternative, self-service financial service, yet not all of these locations require the ability to process cash payments as more underbanked consumers have opted for prepaid cards," he said. "As such, we are seeing more and more interesting form factors based on inexpensive touch-based tablets with integrated card swipe and printing capabilities. These low-cost alternatives are definitely making an impact."

Social media's impact

Following closely behind this year's significance of mobile is social media. Laura Miller, marketing director for the kiosk software company KioWare, said there is immense opportunity for kiosks that can be used for marketing hype, media attention and social sharing.

"Many of the things that we see kiosks doing in the news, and outside of our own industry publications, are communicated via word of mouth and social sharing," Miller said, noting the recent Moscow subway "ticket for squats" kiosk example, or the use of digital signage by WestJet.

This year's boom in the photo booth space is another example of the successful marriage between kiosks and social media.

"Photo booths of all varieties were very big during 2013," said Frank Olea, CEO of Olea Kiosks. "Social media-type booths for retail and more traditional types for parties and events were very big. The amount of requests during the year for these types of kiosks was very large."

And of course, when using any form of social media or online data drive, the importance of the "cloud" cannot be ignored. This year was a pivotal one for the once abstract term, especially in the photo space. According to Pageau, the cloud is now the equivalent of the color-negative strip.

"You could store images on a color negative, and take it to nearly any photofinisher to get prints made. Cloud storage networks like Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, etc., are the new digital shoeboxes where images are stored," Pageau said. "Facebook, Instagram and Google+ are the 21st century photo albums where stories are shared. Accessing images in the cloud is vital to success for mobile imaging."

This is just a slice of the trends this year in the self-service and kiosk industries. What are some other trends that prevailed in 2013? Sound off in the comments section below.

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