Commentary

Considerations for placing digital kiosks at retail

Digital kiosks can be very efficient for the business and can ultimately save a lot of costs and draw more customers, but they need to be conveniently located in the store and easy to access.

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April 22, 2020 by Hannah Jeffreys — Senior Field Marketing Manager, Zebra Technologies Ltd.

Installing a digital kiosk at your place of business can be one of the best business decisions you can make. The greatest benefit is that it will decrease costs while leveraging the returns you are currently making.

Whether to use outdoor or indoor kiosks depends on the specific needs of your business. Making this determination can be challenging on its own. The decision gets even harder when you have to choose which kiosk provider you will use.

And although those questions are important, you should first focus on where you will place digital kiosks to get maximum attention and use. Here are some strategies to consider to optimize digital kiosk placement for greatest efficiency.

Ensure the kiosks are in the most popular aisles

Placing digital kiosks in popular aisles may seem like a no brainer, but some businesses have failed in this regard and placed their kiosks far in the corners of their stores.

Place the digital kiosks on the most trafficked pathways. If you are using checkout kiosks, place them near the exit. When you place kiosks in hardly used aisles, you won't get the response you are expecting.

If placing the kiosk requires building infrastructure, do it.

Sometimes digital kiosks might require being closer to power outlets, causing businesses to place them in less visible locations.

"That is a great mistake and you should avoid this mentality," says Ben Stewart, an outdoor marketing head for a fast moving consumer goods company. "Doing so might save a lot of costs, but it is not efficient in the long run. Instead of making this decision, build a power outlet closer to the most efficient placement zone of the digital kiosk."

Outdoor digital kiosks also might need to have some infrastructure to protect them from vandalism, theft and weather elements. Build whatever is needed to make them most efficient.

Consider increasing the number of kiosks

The store you are managing could have a wide floor area that needs to be covered with more digital kiosks. You might be tempted to place one kiosk every couple of aisles.

That, however, will be highly inefficient because the kiosks will have long waiting lines, which will irritate customers. The primary goal you should have is satisfying the customers, so carefully calculate the number of digital kiosks you will need. That capital investment will return in the long run.

Make it convenient

When placing the kiosk, you need to ensure that customers are fully satisfied with them. That means you should place them with the convenience of customers in mind and make sure they aren't out of the way.

Above that, if you have disabled customers, ensure that the kiosks are easily accessible and usable. Also, don't place them where they will block traffic and cause congestion.

Make sure that the digital kiosks are well branded and illuminated enough for customers to clearly see. Also, make sure they are easy to maintain and won't affect the shop's efficacy.

The bottom line is that digital kiosks can be very efficient for the business and can ultimately save a lot of costs. Above that, it can draw more customers and lead them to make a purchase. When customers get to use technology and see how it makes life easier, they are more likely to become loyal to your business.