How Successful Businesses Use Kiosks

Experiencing long lines is often a sign of growth. Whether you’re running a theme park during peak seasons or operating a stadium hosting a championship game you may be thrilled to see a packed venue. However, it doesn’t mean your retail sales are growing and people are spending more on food, drinks and merchandise.

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In fact, according to data collected by the Omnico Group, long-lines at theme parks are actually causing the visitors who are there to spend less on food, drinks and merchandise.

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Studies showed if theme parks deployed self-serve kiosks and mobile apps, they would see visitor spending on food, beverages and merchandise increase significantly. Visitors said they would spend more money if kiosk technologies and mobile apps were in place; and they would increase their spending from $45 to $250 per head on food and merchandise. The figures are part of Omnico’s Theme Park ROI Barometer, which surveyed 683 consumers from the U.S. who have visited a park within the last two years, along with 2,653 from the U.K., Japan, China and Malaysia.

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Comparable findings have been reported in other industries where self-service technology has been enlisted to tackle similar challenges. This is true for hospitality with self-order kiosks and in retail with price look-up kiosks.

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As we continue to see the adoption of self-service technology rise we see a parallel trend with the maturation of the Internet of Things (IOT). Simply put, IoT is the ability to connect and manage any device with an on/off switch over the Internet. Kiosks are an excellent example of IoT endpoints, and it’s exciting to think about their rapidly evolving role in business and the customer experience.

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Smart kiosks are bringing us volumes of data and insights, and are increasingly being used by operators to provide new innovative experiences for their customers.

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How can a kiosk deployment make your business more successful? There are four things you can do to increase revenue and create a better customer experience at your venue, store or location.

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Digital Signage

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Businesses are looking for ways to further monetize their kiosk solutions by taking advantage of idle screen time. The divide between digital signage and self-serve kiosks is quickly fading, and businesses are investing more in technologies such as Digital Out of Home (DOOH) networks. Increasing screen real estate can be as easy as adding a digital topper to any kiosk. ATMs and many other kiosks are perfectly suited for a digital toppers. Digital ATM toppers are eye-catching and can hold the attention of a viewer far longer than newspaper, radio or TV ads, and they encourage visitors to request more information or different offerings.

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Mobile

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Many companies are combining mobile technologies and self-service channels to bring new applications. Businesses are enabling seamless consumer interactions between kiosks and mobile endpoints for things like cardless cash in banking. A customer no longer needs to carry a physical card to get cash from an ATM. They can use their phone to locate a nearby ATM, log into their bank, get a QR code and scan it at the machine to retrieve their cash.

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Artificial Intelligence

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The benefits of AI extend beyond monitoring and managing the overall health of kiosks. AI makes adaptive consumer experiences possible. Taking the machine out of the equation and enabling more natural interactions that are almost human-like will be key to the success of a self-service kiosk solution.

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Security

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New approaches to security will disrupt the kiosk market and enhance security around the endpoints. Companies are embracing improvements and standards around communications protocols and investing in new technologies like blockchain to play a stronger role in security.

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Consider how to better utilize and protect your kiosk investment. Whether they are traditional kiosks, intelligent vending machines or smart lockers the role that self-service plays in the future of business is instrumental.

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Don’t let growth challenges disrupt your technology ambitions. Find out how an IoT platform like Canopy can give you real-time visibility into operations and help keep your devices up and running.

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