Article

Self Service Excellence Awards

Polo Ralph Lauren and USPS take awards.

July 22, 2007

Polo Ralph Lauren Interactive Shopping Window served up in U.S., England

 

One of the most recognized innovations in the self-service and digital signage industries in the past year was the Polo Ralph Lauren Interactive Shopping Window. Consequently, it was also one of the most heralded deployments at Self Service Expo (formerly KioskCom) in Las Vegas, taking home both the Best of Competition and Best Retail Deployment Self Service Excellence Awards on April 25.

 

The window is made up of translucent film with images projected on it from inside the store. The film is touch-enabled and connects to a PC, making it a 67-inch touchscreen controlled from the street side of the window.

 

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David Lauren, senior vice president of advertising, marketing and corporate communications, said the idea came from the movie "Minority Report," in which Tom Cruise interacts with a futuristic computer by moving floating icons and pictures with his hands.

 

The Polo window was first deployed in August 2006 at Polo's store on New York's Madison Avenue and was launched as part of a U.S. Open (tennis) promotion.

 

Polo's interactive shopping window on Madison Ave. in New York.

The interactivity factor takes the window beyond static digital signage by enabling customers to buy a limited edition of Polo tennis apparel, pay for it with a credit card and have it delivered to their homes. A card slide, the system's only external hardware, is located on the front of the window. And since it is located on the outside of the store, customers can shop 24 hours a day.

 

The orders are filled by polo.com. Shoppers are contacted the next day by email or phone to check payment information and arrange shipping.

 

Polo's window received national attention from the media when it was first deployed. Many local news outlets and Web sites wrote stories and Good Morning America featured a segment on the window.

 

In November 2006, the window was launched at Polo's flagship store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, this time with an alpine skiing theme. In addition to purchasing Polo ski gear, customers could access live weather and ski conditions, read profile of the Aspen ski patrol and get style advice for the slopes.

 

The next deployment came in summer 2007, when the window was once again used by Polo as part of tennis promotion. This time, a 78-inch window was placed in the London Polo store and was geared toward the Wimbledon tournament. The campaign was promoted by 1985 Wimbledon champion Boris Becker. The window advertised more Polo tennis wear, gave live score updates from the event and offered tennis tips, one of them being the forehand drive, a diving move that made Becker a star.

 

Exhibitors vote for USPS line-buster

 

The Postal Service has deployed 2,500 APCs since 2004.

The United States Postal Service was the People's Choice Winner for Self-Service Street, a strip of interactive booths located at the back of the exhibit hall. Unlike the other Excellence Awards, the People's Choice winner is voted on by the Expo's attendees, not the expert judges.

 

At its Self-Service Street booth, the government agency set up a mock post office branch, complete with a self-service kiosk. The Automated Postal Center (APC) was part of a 2004 initiative by the USPS to integrate self-service to cut wait times. Since 2004, 2,500 APCs have been rolled out.

 

The APC dispenses stamps, which the USPS says is the overwhelming majority of transactions conducted at post offices. In addition, APC customers can access most of the services available at the counter, including shipment of first class parcel, ZIP code lookup, weighing and rating packages up to 70 pounds and delivery confirmation service.

 

Prices for shipping and stamps are the same as at the postal counter and there is no additional charge for using the APC.

 

Michael C. Adams, retail service equipment project manager, said that in the first two fiscal quarters of this year APCs have processed 22 million transactions.

 

"We have had a lot of success with the Gen X and Gen Y age groups. But even with older people, once they use it, they like it," Adams said.

 

USPS Delivering and Retail vice president Bill Galligan says APCs could do for postal centers what ATMs did for banking.