Article

Overcoming the in-store challenge

KioskCom Retail featured discussions on making kiosk applications work in the marketplace. But economic conditions kept some people away from the three-day show in San Diego.

February 26, 2002

SAN DIEGO - Integrating new technologies, discovering innovative ways to reach customers, and smaller footprints were all concepts discussed or showcased during the KioskCom Retail show at the Hilton San Diego Resort Oct. 23-25.

The final day of sessions, on Oct. 25, included a panel discussion on overcoming the challenges of in-store technology to deliver successful retail kiosk programs. Speakers from Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), TravelCenters of America, Blockbuster Inc., and 7-Eleven Inc. discussed their various projects while taking questions from attendees.

Panelists agreed that perhaps the most significant key to a successful kiosk project is to know your audience. REI operations administrator Jennifer Solmssen said her company's customers are generally skilled at using the Internet. As a result, the outdoors supplier's 61 kiosks feature access to REI's Web site.

"Our customer is of a set who is really used to utilizing the Internet," Solmssen said. "It'd be a totally different scenario if our customers didn't have that avenue.

"We use (the kiosks) as a selling tool and really leverage our sales staff," Solmssen continued. "We get a lot of in-store sales that are influenced by the kiosks, but it's hard to measure exact figures."

For Dave Hanzal, TravelCenters project manager, the task was to introduce a rewards kiosk for truckers at the company's 160 truck stops. He said it was important for truckers to understand the benefits of the program - rewards include free showers and cash certificates. That became a back-end solution.

"One of our team members thought it would be a great idea to put together an employee-incentive program to get people to join the (rewards) program," Hanzal said. "We developed a program with random drawings for prizes. That was an incentive to get our employees involved."

Return policy

The closing day of the conference kicked off with a look at Sheetz Inc., a convenience store chain with 265 locations in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic states. Sheetz launched a food-service automation program in 1998. Store customers can order custom-made sandwiches and other deli items at the store using a touchscreen kiosk. The kitchen prepares the food while the customer shops.

John Moulton, Sheetz director of store automation, said the project's aim was to improve efficiency, not to create technological razzle-dazzle for his stores.

"A lot of people will say to me `How much have sales increased?" Moulton said. "I say I have no idea. I hope people aren't coming here just to order."

Moulton also stressed the idea of the kiosk program as a continual work in progress. He said that the company has learned the importance of getting marketing and technology on the same page. It has also learned that not every idea is a good idea.

"We thought we had this great space so let's sell commercial time at the kiosks," Moulton said. "The employees hated it. While the customers could come and go, the employees had to listen to them constantly. In the middle of the night it got so loud it drove them crazy. That turned out to be a bad idea."

Moulton said the company is considering developing a loyalty card or a customer identification card. The card would allow regular customer to walk up to the kiosk and input favorite sandwich orders directly off the card.

Other speakers on the final day of the show included Bob Seale, training operations manager for Nissan North America; Bob Gellman, vice president of online strategies for Radio Shack Corp.; and Bill Hetzner, a technical staffer at Ann Arbor, Mich.-based research institute ERIM. Seale and Gellman both discussed strategies for transforming traditional retail sales to kiosk sales, while Hetzner spoke of regulatory issues.

The exhibitionists

About 100 attendees took part in the show, according to KioskCom managing director Lawrence Dvorchik. The attendees covered a wide spectrum, from retailers (Best Buy, Sears) to pharmacies (Walgreen's) to gaming-resort companies (MGM-Mirage, Bellagio).

Dvorchik admitted he had initially expected greater attendance at the show, but said recent world events, including the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, negatively affected the show.

"The events of the 11th and the impact of the economy absolutely impacted the numbers here," Dvorchik said. "Had Sept. 11 never happened there would have been more people here."

Travel budgets also impacted the show. Speakers from Blockbuster and 7-Eleven had to teleconference their presentations after travel budgets were slashed, and other speakers (Virgin Entertainment Group, Borders Stores, WHSmith PLC) cancelled outright.

The impact was also felt on the exhibit floor, where 13 exhibitors took part in the show, ranging from software companies (Apunix Computer Services) to enclosure manufacturers (Kiosk Information Systems) to printer manufacturers (Lexmark).

"It's one of the off-shoots of the main show," Dvorchik said, referring to KioskCom's annual spring show. "It wasn't planned to be 1,500 people and 100 exhibitors like Orlando was earlier this year."

But Apunix vice president Sylvia Berens suggested the main show might be all KioskCom needs.

"Once a year is probably enough to do a show like this," Berens said. "Having one big show is better than having multiple little ones."

Several companies used the show to debut new equipment. Apunix displayed a new information kiosk that can be activated by flashing an electronic key - provided by a hotel at check-in time, for example - past the kiosk. The kiosk then offers personalized information about the hotel and activities at the hotel and surrounding area.

"We're looking at hotels with this primarily," Apunix president Peter Berens said, "because it's not considered an invasion of privacy."

One company introduced a product designed to decrease kiosk footprints. Telpar Inc. introduced a modified version of an Epsom EUT-400 printer. Half the frame was removed, to make the printer just four inches tall

"What we've done is taken the top off the unit and let the customer have mounting flexibility," said Telpar regional sales manager Terry Cooper. "When customers talk to us about footprints, they tell us they want us to be flexible."