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Kiosk sales to reach $3 billion in 2006, research says

October 7, 2002

NEW YORK -- Kiosks will drive more than $3 billion in sales across all industry sectors by 2006, but challenges remain, according to Jupiter Research Inc.

Retail operations that deal in physical goods rather than tickets or coupons will continue to find developing kiosks a challenge, Jupiter analyst Dylan Brooks told Internet Retailer. Those challenges are prompting retailers to opt for less-pricey solutions, he said.

"Simple, lower-cost terminals, which are essentially PCs that connect to companies' Web sites can save over $10,000 per unit and can also cut costs of developing new interfaces," Brooks said.

While kiosk transactions are expected to grow slowly, kiosk installations will find much greater retail application in customer service and research, according to Jupiter. The research company claims kiosk-influenced commerce will reach an estimated $48.7 billion in 2006.

Ticketing, books, videos and music account for nearly 40 percent of current kiosk sales. That percentage will drop as toys, consumer electronics and other industries make greater use of kiosks for research, fulfillment and payment, according to Jupiter. Imaging is one of the largest commerce categories among offline kiosks and is expected to become a contender in Web-enabled kiosks.

"Once connected to services such as AOL Time Warner's You've Got Pictures, imaging kiosks will at last tap some of the revenue potential of consumers' online picture vaults," Brooks said.