Customer Experience
Outdoor kiosks on the rise: What to consider when choosing one
Ben Snider of Frank Mayer and Associates Inc. expands on the reasons behind the growth of outdoor kiosks and how brands and retailers can leverage the technology to improve the customer experience.
March 8, 2023 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times
Outdoor kiosks are not new, but they are becoming more visible of late. The same factors driving the overall expansion of kiosks are causing businesses, organizations and property owners to add more outdoor kiosks — factors which include labor shortages, the rising cost of labor, technology advances and a better customer experience.
The global outdoor interactive kiosk market is expected to grow at a combined annual growth rate of 9.5% through 2030, according to DataIntello, a market researcher. The research found outdoor kiosks are typically placed in high-traffic areas such as malls and travel hubs to provide important information such as maps and directions, and to promote products or services.
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Ben Snider |
Kiosk Marketplace recently interviewed Ben Snider, an account executive at Frank Mayer and Associates Inc., to expand on the reasons behind the growth of outdoor kiosks and how brands and retailers can leverage the technology to improve the customer experience.
Following are excerpts from this interview.
Q. What factors are driving the growth of outdoor kiosks?
A. The main factors are the labor shortage, the cost of labor, technology advancements and the improved user experience.
Consider the example of a car wash. A car wash can hire employees to collect payments and send the cars through the car wash. Or they can pay between $15,000 and $30,000 for a kiosk that will last them years that will collect the payments, communicate with the car wash and even allow customers "subscription based" unlimited plans by scanning license plates, a mobile app (QR codes) or RFID tags.
Q. What are the main customer verticals for outdoor kiosks?
A. In addition to the aforementioned car washes, the main verticals are parking, ticketing, QSRs, transportation hubs, bill pay, security, display and wayfinding.
Q. What are the external requirements that are unique to outdoor kiosks?
A. The two major requirements are high brightness touchscreens and enclosures.
For high brightness touchscreens, you have the following requirements:
- High brightness LCD displays. Your standard laptop or smartphone has a brightness rating of around 250 NIT to 300 NIT. The LCD display on our outdoor touchscreen typically is 1,000 NIT to 1,200 NIT or higher.
- Anti-glare or anti-reflective touchscreens. The glass of the touchscreens has an anti-glare or anti-reflective coating to help reduce the reflection and increase visibility.
- UV-reflective film. If you were to place a standard TV in direct sunlight, the UV rays would cause the TV to black out, even in cold temperatures. The inside of our touchscreens have a UV-reflective film which reflect the UV rays and prevent the monitor from blacking out.
- PCAP touchscreen panels. Your typical touchscreen on your cell phone or tablet is capacitive touch. When water touches a capacitive touchscreen it will act as if someone is touching it. Which is why your phone acts weird with water on it. This wouldn't work for the outdoors due to rain. So, we use a projected capacitive touchscreen (PCAP) that does not react to water and only works with a finger.
- IP65 rating. The touchscreen needs to be weather resistant and prevent water from penetrating the touch. We also use gasketing material behind the bezel to prevent water from penetrating the kiosk enclosure.
Under enclosure requirements, you have the following:
- Rust prevention. Instead of mild steel, we would recommend using stainless steel. It can increase the cost of the kiosk, but will further prevent future rust. You can also prevent rust by powder-coating the kiosks instead of using wet paint. We typically powder-coat indoor kiosks any way, but powder-coating can provide additional resistance to chipping, scratching and other wear.
- Weather resistance. With the kiosk being placed outdoors, it needs to be designed so that water cannot get into the kiosk. This can be done through additional engineering. We can also prevent water from getting into the kiosk with the use of gasketing materials and compression locks on the doors. This draws the door/gasketing material tightly into the kiosk enclosure to prevent water from entering into the kiosk.
- Additional security. Typically, outdoor kiosks are unmanned. Security is most important for kiosks that deal with cash. If the kiosk has cash inside we would typically design an additional security door that could be locked up at night unless it is a 24/7 unmanned kiosk. If the kiosk is unmanned 24/7, we would just have to design the kiosk door to be "beefed up" in a way that prevents vandalism. The door cannot have any pry points and needs to be sturdy to prevent a pry bar from prying it open. The locks also have to have a higher "ultimate load" than the standard locks we use for indoors. For kiosks that do not have cash in them, a simple decal saying "this kiosk does not have cash inside" can help prevent vandalism.
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The Omni outdoor kiosk features a 15-inch monitor and can be used to pay for parking. |
Q. What are the internal requirements that are unique to outdoor kiosks?
A.Heating and cooling. An outdoor kiosk always requires some form of heating and cooling to ensure the kiosk electronics stay within their correct operating temperatures. The amount of heating and cooling is dependent on many variables. There are also kiosk electronics that have a wider range of operational temperature that can sometimes be required for outdoor kiosk use.
Q. Do all outdoor kiosks have an HVAC system?
A. HVAC systems are always recommended but not always required. An HVAC system can increase the cost of a kiosk quite a bit. For one, the HVAC alone is expensive, and two, you have to make the enclosure large enough to house the HVAC system.
HVAC systems have a thermostat that can be set to maintain a regulated temperature within the enclosure. It is typically set to turn on cooling when temperature exceeds a certain degree and turn on heating when temperatures dip below that limit. Having a regulated temperature can help with moisture control and keep electronics within their operating temperature.
Factors that determine if an HVAC system is needed are as follows:
- Location of the kiosk. Where the kiosk is going can determine how high or low temperatures can get in that location. For example, building a kiosk in Houston, Texas or Breckenridge, Colorado would be different than building one for Nashville, Tennessee.
- Placement of the kiosk. Whether the kiosk is in direct sunlight or under a canopy can also affect the kiosk enclosure's temperature.
- Electronics within the kiosk. Some electronics have a wider range of operating temperatures. For example, a barcode reader and credit card reader have a much wider range of operating temperature than a receipt printer.
- Electronic heat output. Kiosk electronics typically put off heat, which can increase the internal temperature of the kiosks. The amount will vary.
- Enclosure size. The size of the enclosure is a big factor. Smaller enclosures can likely be cooled with muffin fans and/or heated with a small enclosure heater which is significantly more cost effective. For example, our Omni Kiosk does not have an HVAC and is a fraction of the cost as our Outdoor Approach 32-inch kiosk.
- Budget. An HVAC system is often recommended for highest quality and best performance, but is not required. Determining the client's budget can also help determine if an HVAC is needed or if muffin fans and or a DIN rail heater would suffice. For kiosk placement, HVACs typically require space behind the kiosk for proper ventilation and air movement.
Q. What factors are involved in supplying power to outdoor kiosks?
A. This depends on the use case. For kiosks that are freestanding or movable we can design kiosks to be plugged into a standard outlet. For kiosks that are more permanent in a fixed location we recommend a hardwired connection.
Q. Do outdoor kiosks require uninterrupted power supplies?
A. Not always. It depends on the use case. This would be the same as an indoor kiosk.
Q. Are sanitation requirements different for outdoor kiosks?
A. Not necessarily. If the kiosks are exposed to sand or salt, it can help to clean the kiosk more often to prevent coating from wearing off and the metal from corroding.
Q. Do maintenance requirements differ for outdoor kiosks from indoor kiosks?
A. Not necessarily. The electronics may be different but the overall maintenance is very similar.
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Weather resistant outdoor kiosks come in three different sizes from Frank Mayer and Associates Inc. |
Q. What are the most common challenges a location faces when installing an outdoor kiosk?
A. The biggest challenge we see is with the site preparation when a hardwired connection is needed. This is typically outsourced to a local contractor.
We provide drawings that include mounting instructions, hardware connection location and suggested concrete pad size and height if needed.
Another challenge is that some areas in the U.S. require an Underwriters Laboratories listing. This is not common, but it does arise. Then the client has to decide if they want to go through the process of getting a UL listing which can be costly and time consuming.
Q. What questions should a location decision maker ask a kiosk manufacturer before selecting an outdoor kiosk?
A. They need to ask the following:
- Which kiosk model and size do you recommend for my use case?
- Is an HVAC required for my kiosk project?
- Do you have recommendations for electronics that are more "outdoor kiosk-friendly"?
- What is the additional cost to build my kiosk out of stainless steel instead of mild steel?
- What is the additional cost to increase the size of our touchscreen monitor?
- What are ways we can increase security for our outdoor kiosk?
- How can we cut down on hardware and material cost?
Photos courtesy of Frank Mayer and Associates Inc.
About Elliot Maras
Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.
Included In This Story
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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