News

RedDotNet eyes kiosks' potential in music market

November 17, 2002

LOS ANGELES -- RedDotNet has its listening-system kiosk installed in nearly 200 retail stores nationwide. By the end of 2004, the company plans to be in 2,000 outlets, according to a report in USA Today.

Customers swipe the bar code of any CD across the RedDotNet kiosk's reader, and the name of the album and songs pop up on the screen. Customers can scroll through the selections and sample songs of their choice.

"You can sell more music but stock less," said Robert McCray, president of RedDotNet, based in Carlsbad, Calif.

The kiosks play trailers or promotional movie clips from up to 10,000 films and 1,800 video games. RedDotNet recommends store owners install plenty of kiosks. For a system of about 20 kiosks, a store typically pays an all-inclusive $2,500 a month to acquire the equipment and content, including weekly music updates and maintenance.

"It's a little more expensive (than competing systems), but there's a lot more interactivity with the customer," said David Lang, president of the 10-store Compact Disc World chain in New Jersey.

Lang has installed the system in two new stores, including one where he claims it helped boost sales 20 percent.