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Kiosk design: the key to a better customer experience
With design, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Despite that fact, there are still design principles you need to keep in mind to make your kiosk take the market by storm, especially in the retail sphere.
April 11, 2016 by Kiosk Marketplace
When people think of design, they often envision the artistic style of a certain piece, whether it be architecture, hardware or artwork. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it can be difficult to settle on specific designs. However, with kiosks, especially in retail environments, there are some general design principles to follow to improve your overall customer experience and chances for a successful deployment.
The first thing you need to consider is whether your kiosk deployment will be a good fit for your selected retailer. You need to make sure that your kiosk will fit the retailer's brand, according to Ron Bowers, senior vice president of business development, Frank Mayer & Associates Inc.
"Retailers spend millions and millions of dollars on creating a culture and design that is their brand. They have consumers that are used to that look and feel," Bowers said. Thus, kiosk manufacturers should attempt to make sure the kiosk fits the brand of the retailer. Also, they should make a kiosk that can withstand the world of retail. For example, your kiosk should be sturdy enough that it can withstand being slammed into by shopping carts or getting wet from mops.
Another factor to consider is regulations concerning kiosk design. In a previous news story, we discussed a disabled man who was unable to properly pay at a parking kiosk due to the enclosure being too tall. With kiosks, the American Disabilities Act dictates the overall length of your kiosk and touchscreen.
"In a retail environment, the top of the touchscreen can not be higher than 48 inches. This is due to ADA compliance rules," James Gregorie, director of digital marketing and business development, Swift-Protech LLC. "The overall height of the kiosk should be around 55 inches. The width will vary depending on the size of the monitor."
On the customer experience side, you need three basic criteria, according to Bowers. First, the kiosk needs to act as a beacon. When a customer sees your kiosk, they should not think the kiosk is only for employees to use. It should advertise its presence with an attractive screen loop. Its enclosure should be designed to be favorable to the eyes.
According to Gregorie, make sure to investigate your customers first to find out what they need with kiosk design. Gregorie said it is common mistake to "spend money on some superfluous hardware design that most consumers don't care about."
Second, the kiosk needs to give the customers the most important information in an easy way. If a customer has to go through several menus to find the necessary information, such as product descriptions and payment options, they will likely become frustrated. Customers want an easy experience, and that translates to both the quality and accuracy of your kiosk's touchscreen and software.
"Screen quality and ease of use of the software always rate as more important with consumers," Gregorie said. One way to make your touchscreen easy to use is to pick the right user interface.
"Applications should have big buttons and easy to read text. Small clickable objects inevitably lead to miss clicks and frustrated users," Gregorie said.
The third thing to consider is whether the kiosk fits into the environment. For example, if you have an outdoor kiosk, you might not want to use a touchscreen in certain areas due to weather variables. In addition, as mentioned above, you will need to make sure your kiosk fits the retail environment. If the environment is prone to accidents, then you should customize your kiosk accordingly.
"Build it tough because people can be rough on a self serve system. If a feature is purely cosmetic and is easily broken it should be removed from the design; it won't last long," Gregorie said.
This can extend to security as well.
"Know if security surveillance needs to be employed in the environment around the install site to protect the equipment," Gregorie said.
Bowers called 2016 the "year of the kiosk." We are seeing more kiosk deployments every day in a multitude of environments. However, with so many of them, you need to ensure your kiosk design improves the customer experience and fits the environment. Otherwise, it will be left in the dust by other innovators who gain a foothold in this competitive marketplace.
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Frank Mayer and Associates
Kiosk Design | Manufacturer
Frank Mayer Kiosks and Displays specializes in large-scale rollouts of custom digital kiosks for enterprise and growth-oriented brands. With a relentless focus on premium design, customization, and end-to-end service, we manufacture self-service customer engagement solutions that expand market reach, boost sales, and enhance brand equity.
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