Lead

Kiosks: helping you to help yourself

Kiosks have been around for a while now. Initially their use was restricted to distributing information, but now they're becoming more interactive, and applications such as printing boarding passes are being rolled out. Priya Jain examines the technology that powers these smart boxes

If self-service is the best service, as many have claimed, interactive kiosks are perhaps the proof of the pudding. Combining ease and sophistication, they are fast becoming a style statement for companies that want to impress their customers. Plus, as is the case with all self-service mechanisms such as ATMs and Internet banking, the cost of getting customers to do their own work is proving irresistible for the service industry. From the vendor perspective, AGS Infotech, Intercode Solutions and SoftAid Computers are looking to tap this market by providing customised kiosks.

Research conducted by AC Nielsen ORG-MARG in the recent past indicated that about 74 percent of respondents prefer to use new technology such as self-service kiosks for airline check-in. Here a passenger can go to a kiosk, enter the required details, and print a boarding pass rather than wait in a queue at a counter for this. The passenger may then drop luggage to be checked in at a designated drop point, if required. The same fundamentals apply in retail as well.

Computer kiosks can store data locally, or they can retrieve data from a remote server over a network. Kiosks can be used to provide information, which is great when it comes to e-governance, or for facilitating online transactions, or collecting cash in exchange for commodities (your basic vending machine).

Birth of a concept

To understand the technology used in kiosks, one needs to understand the evolution of ATMs because that is where the concept of kiosks stemmed from. The technology used in ATMs has gone through various phases from basic payment functions to value-added functions such as balance enquiry, printing statements and cash-in and cheque-in facilities.

Notes Sunil Udupa, President & CEO, AGS Infotech, “When ATMs provided value-added functions, a study on their usage indicated that only five percent of customers used them for value-added functions, whereas the majority used the machine only for cash withdrawals. The problem faced by banks was that value-added transactions were time-consuming and were therefore rejected by the banks. This problem caused ATM manufacturers to re-think their strategy. They then decided to keep only the basic function of an ATM and avoid enhancing its functionality. However, to cater to the need for value-added transactions, manufacturers decided to develop machines called kiosks.”

A kiosk initially was a simple computer installed in the same location as the ATM. It allowed customers to access value-added transactions. Later, for aesthetics, the computer was enclosed in a box. This concept was dubbed PC-in-a-Box.

Unfortunately, your average computer isn’t built to run 24x7x365. Moreover, the PCs being used at that time lacked features such as maintainability and reliability that were required for self-service. For example, these PCs did not have a spill-proof keyboard, something that was a standard feature on an industrial PC. Although the kiosk concept of providing a means of obtaining information for self-service was a success, the PC-in-a-box was a failure. Recognising this, manufacturers developed kiosks designed for self-service functions.

An electronic kiosk inherits its self-operating abilities from its components. These are a computer terminal that runs customised software which serves the functions it’s programmed to, while, at the same time, preventing users from accessing system functions. Kiosks also have input devices such as a computer keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball or touch screen, push buttons, bill acceptor, thermal printers and maybe even a credit card swipe slot.

Adoption across verticals

Although the usage of kiosks in India remains low, the technology is being looked upon as one that permits companies to boost customer loyalty and satisfaction. It also frees sales associates from time-consuming activities, increases efficiency and productivity per employee, and directly reduces operating expenditure.

The biggest consumer of these devices in India is the government. That’s largely because a kiosk is a lot friendlier for a newbie who isn’t familiar with computers or English than any other computer format.

Other than the government sector, kiosks have been deployed mostly by banks to supplement ATMs. Banks have begun experimenting with transaction kiosks including cheque truncation deposit kiosks. Encashing an inter-city cheque normally takes 15 to 20 days. By adopting cheque truncation, this can be shortened to 3-4 days. Kiosks can help take this service to every ATM.

Another popular variant is a payment terminal kiosk, a self-service platform for both depositors and general customers. It permits bill payments, purchase of mobile top-ups, and railway ticket booking, accepting payment by credit or debit cards of any bank. 

"A kiosk is an ideal product for the retail sector which is getting organised" - Royston Rodrigues Chief Technology Officer Intercode Solutions

One vertical that’s excited about kiosk technology is retail. Explains Royston Rodrigues, Chief Technology Officer, Intercode Solutions, “A kiosk is an ideal product for the retail sector which is getting organised.”

Here customers can use a retail kiosk as a pre-sales assistant by scanning an item’s Universal Product Code (UPC) to learn about details, specifications, guidance, rebates and coupons. These kiosks can be used to facilitate up-sell by showing a consumer similar products with additional features and functionality. Product advertisements, store specials and promotions can be communicated to the customers via a kiosk by using it as a scrolling billboard or video player. Or, as the music store chains do, the kiosk can be used to help a buyer sample merchandise before he forks out his money for it.

Kiosks can also help store employees to scan UPC to get the inventory status at other store locations. Stock situations can be entered immediately. Similarly, they can be used to view weekly work schedules. Additionally, kiosks can be successfully used as effective instruments for sales and employee education since they are interactive.

Non-retail applications include airline gate check-in where gate attendants can scan a barcode on an airline ticket to confirm the customer’s identification, view a photo of the customer, and authenticate his travel itinerary.

In hotel registration, a kiosk can be used to scan or swipe a hotel chain’s loyalty card and confirm the specifics of a reservation. Tradeshow attendees can use it for online pre-registration, and take printouts of the proof of registration document that includes a barcode.

Observes Udupa, “Retail kiosks have undergone a technology revolution. Today, they are being used to download ringtones to a mobile or music to a CD or USB drive.” Kiosks are also available with an in-built 802.11b radio card. Once fixed on the wall, the device can be configured, and software downloaded and upgraded using a remote tool, thus making it totally and completely supported via remote connectivity as long as the mall has a Wi-Fi zone that encompasses the kiosks.

"Kiosks can be customised as per the requirements of government offices and defence organisations" - Sachin Gandhe Operations In Charge, Software SoftAid Computers

Kiosks are being widely used in other industries too. Take the case of photo kiosks, which can be used to print images captured using a mobile phone, letting you make simple adjustments to enhance image quality before you print. In the petroleum industry, kiosks can be used for loyalty programmes.

Remarks Shrihari Bhat, General Manager, Retail Solutions, NCR Corporation, South East Asia, “As the airline industry matures, consumers will expect the same sort of experience as well as convenience that they have seen in developed markets. With the number of airlines growing rapidly, and increasing passenger traffic, self check-in could be a significant mechanism to reduce pressure at check-in counters. The savvy Indian consumer is ready to adopt technologies which will empower him with better service options.”

Points out Sachin Gandhe, Operations In charge, Software, SoftAid Computers, “Kiosks can also be customised as per the requirements of government offices, defence organisations, pharmaceutical companies and R&D labs.” This lets them be used as effective marketing or branding tools.

“Anything that a PC can do, a kiosk can do better,” insists Udupa. By providing e-commerce access to online shopping services, kiosks let retailers expand inventory without increasing floor space. Kiosks make it possible for vendors to expand their reach—and enhance their profitability—by selling goods and services in locations other than their store-front.

Kiosks should be easy to put together and pull apart for maintenance. In the eventuality of a system failure, the procedure to rectify the said error and get it working again must be simple.

Gandhe opines, “Maintenance required is minimal, barring a periodic change of cartridges, especially in kiosks that offer printing.”

And the downside is…

Although the technology is great and provides a rich customer experience, the biggest challenge is the cost of a kiosk, ranging as it does from Rs 60,000 to Rs 10,00,000. Compared to the ‘PC in a box’ concept, kiosks involve greater capital investment.

Adds Udupa, “A greater difficulty to handle is the marketing of kiosks in India. Awareness remains limited. Marketing kiosks requires adequate research, and the communication of how best the features of the product can be leveraged to the right audience.”

Today, kiosks are used in various industries and for diverse purposes. It is an opportune moment for makers of kiosks because the technology is flexible, and with the steady march of organised retail, there’s scope for a range of functions to be added to the already multi-tasking kiosk.