News

Kiosk world market grew by 20 percent in 2003

March 8, 2004

PALO ALTO, Calif.-New analysis from Frost & Sullivan estimates the revenue in this market at $463.7 million in 2003, a surge in excess of 20 percent over 2002, and projects the market to reach $801.5 million in 2010 at a CAGR of 10.65 percent.

According to Frost & Sullivan research analyst Vineeta Kommineni, "The torpor of recession in 2001 coincided with the visibility of the industry's teething problems in the form of malfunctioning kiosks and saw market players disappearing with shocking speed. While 2002 saw the industry distilling the lessons learned from the project collapses of 2001, the year 2003 benefited from the implementation of those lessons." Frost & Sullivan believes that players who survived the market shakeout will be rewarded with a strong foothold in the industry; the importance of aligning with experienced players has been entrenched in the minds of kiosk customers following the spate of reports on failed kiosk projects.

Alongside, kiosk applications such as human resource, airline self check-in and photo kiosks exhibit a strong value proposition and are driving usage of interactive kiosks. As a corollary, they augment ROI and encourage investment in kiosk projects in a climate where companies are adopting a retrograde IT investment attitude. "In an industry shadowed by inadequate expression of ROI by customers, these applications serve as a standard," says Kommineni.

Project management complexity is a key challenge facing the kiosk industry. The success of a kiosk project hinges on the smooth interplay between enclosure manufacturers, software firms, hardware component vendors, integrators and maintenance service providers. These individual suppliers often sell "products" rather than complete solutions. "Barring a handful of turnkey players there are few `keeper of keys' in the market. There is a glaring need for turnkey players and/or project specialists who can position themselves as a single point of contact between the client and numerous suppliers and take charge of every process in the successful completion," says Kommineni.

The complexity of kiosk project management is compounded by dispersed decision-making at the client's end. A self-checkout kiosk project for example, requires coordination between IT, marketing, operations and top management. The IT department deals with issues concerning integration with existing retail systems; marketing deals with customer perceptions of inconvenience attached to scanning and bagging themselves; human resources department deals with labor scheduling as cashiers may either need to be discharged or directed to help customers in the aisles; top management because the project involves a significant investment in resources and influences store image.

The research service on "World Interactive Kiosk Markets" examines, sizes and forecasts the World Interactive Kiosk Market and market segments -- retail, self-checkout, photo, government, banking, finance, tourism, transportation & entertainment, telecommunications, and others. The study discusses the dynamics of the interactive kiosk industry in terms of market drivers, restraints, pricing and competitive landscape. In addition, strategies to overcome the challenges faced by the kiosk industry are recommended. Executive summaries and interviews are available to the press.