News

OpenMotion intros personalized gift card kiosk at NRF Big Show

January 15, 2012

At the National Retail Federation's 101st Annual Convention & EXPO in New York City, digital and mobile marketing solutions company OpenMotion has introduced the ConnectNow Custom Gift Card Kiosk, which enables retailers to increase revenue by overcoming the reason consumers cite most often when choosing not to purchase a gift card: that it might be perceived as impersonal.

The ConnectNow Kiosk combines the latest in digital touchscreen computing and an ergonomic retail self-service kiosk with Truecolors printing technology and real-time credit card authorization and card activation through wireless machine-to-machine communications enabled by RACO Wireless, according to OpenMotion. The ConnectNow Kiosk empowers retailers to allow customers to create a card from their favorite retailer with their own personal touch, "transforming an ordinary gift card into a thoughtful and meaningful gift," the company said.

The ConnectNow Kiosk addresses the top three gift card purchasing criteria for consumers by allowing them to select a specific dollar value; find a card for a specific occasion and create a visually appealing card; and allowing them to create a card with their own personalized message. The ConnectNow Kiosk has an ergonomic appeal, small footprint and is designed to enhance any retail environment. Each kiosk's graphics are customized to meet the individual retailer's brand.

Gift card sales reached a record $100 billion in 2011 — of which, $28 billion came during the recent holiday season. But retailers' closed-loop cards are facing tough competition from financial institutions' open-loop prepaid cards, which are expected to exceed sales of closed-loop cards by 2014.

"We believe that differentiation is ever more critical for retailers to compete for the consumer's dollar when it comes to gift cards. The ConnectNow Kiosk allows retailers to provide their customers with the ability to create a unique gift card by selecting the occasion, choosing a design, personalizing a message, and purchasing and printing the card on demand — turning an ordinary gift card into an extraordinary gift with a personal touch," said OpenMotion President Rob Deubell, in the announcement.

Read more about vending kiosks.