Article

Virtual catalogs save inventory space

According to Dr. Peter Berens, the use of kiosks in retail stores to provide an electronic catalog of products is an area of great potential.

July 18, 2004 by

The use of kiosks in retail stores to provide an electronic catalog of products is an area of great potential. However key to the success of this type of kiosk deployment, and the acceptance of the process to the store's customer, is the design of the kiosk content and the visualization of the product to be sold.   The value proposition to the retailer for the kiosk is compelling: Virtually unlimited product selection, no in-store inventory, the ability to cross sell and up sell other items at the kiosk, and the ability of offer extensive product information as well as selection assistance at the kiosk. Designed right, the kiosk can act as a well-trained sales consultant -- guiding the customer to quickly finding just the right product that meets their needs and criteria.   One example of what we think is a very successful implementation of this type of virtual showroom kiosk is a kiosk created for Evviva Virtual Galleries by Apunix Computer Services. These kiosks are designed to allow in-store customers to by high quality, limited edition art in home improvement and furnishings stores.

The key elements of design

There are three key components to the design of this kiosk software. First is allowing the customer to shop in they way they want, either by browsing the catalog, or through choices selected by art curators, and most importantly based on criteria that is important to the customer.

Also key is the visualization component of the product that allows the framed artwork to be displayed and viewed at full size on a large plasma screen also controlled by the kiosk.   According to Michael Bevins, president of Evviva Virtual Galleries "The choice of the correct kiosk developer was key to the successful design of this prototype. Apunix's unique ability to not only provide an easy to use graphically rich customer experience but also provide a platform that leads the industry in robustness and reliability and database centric design is critical to the future success of this project."   In this kiosk the customer can select art by booth the types and styles of art that appealed to them and refine the search based on the predominant color scheme of the room the art was to place in. After they choose the piece of art that appeals to them, they see the art full size on the screen. It is shown with a frame that was chosen by an art curator as to be the best match for that painting, however the customer can interact with the art using the kiosk and instantly change the frame to one of their choosing and see the art in the new frame on the plasma screen.   The net result is the customer can quickly find just the right piece of art from a virtually unlimited selection of high quality limited edition works. This offer the customer much more selection in a home furnishing store than they would have at even a very large art gallery and the ability to see the art in the frame of their choice rather than in just the frame a gallery may have chosen for the art.

For the retailer, they can now offer a vast selection of gallery quality art without the need and cost of inventory. The art is produced on demand and delivered directly to the customer. We think this type of kiosk shows how successful a well executed kiosk can be to help sell products that if a physical inventory was required would not sell enough quantity per square foot of space required on the show floor or sell items that augment the retailer's in-store items.   For many products where the visualization of the product is not as important as it is with art and home furnishings, a well-designed kiosk without the plasma screen can also be very effective. What is most important is to take advantage of the kiosk's unique ability to provide a knowledge database about the product and ability to offer a vast product selection, and to be able to up sell and cross sell companion products that fit with the product currently being viewed by the customer.

Dr. Peter Berens co-founded Apunix in 1981. He received his B.S. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and his Ph.D from the University of California, San Diego.