In its annual results last week, Home Retail Group talked about the importance of kiosks to the Argos store experience. So are they making a comeback?
Haven’t many retailers already trialled and then discarded kiosks?
Yes is the short answer. Kiosks were pitched as the next big thing in retail several years back, but many trials and implementations have been far from successful.
With retailers finally developing convincing multichannel strategies they are back, and unlike previous examples they have a clear purpose, are transactional and can allow retailers to extend the edited ranges they offer in stores.
How successful are Argos’ kiosks?
Argos has been one of the few retailers to persevere with kiosks. The retailer first introduced them in 2000, and by 2004 they were in 600 stores. It now has more than 2,000 kiosks in its stores, and about a fifth of store customers use them rather than queuing to pay at the manned tills. They are a good fit with its check-and-reserve service, as they allow customers to quickly pay for items that have already been reserved online.
Argos is poised to trial a new generation of kiosks that allow customers to pay for items in cash. Argos will install the first pilot kiosks to take cash payments this week in Stevenage and Thurrock Retail Park and plans to install 40 cash kiosks in total this financial year.
Who else is using them?
Retailers including John Lewis, HMV, Mothercare and new fashion chain GIVe also have kiosks in some stores.
John Lewis has found that its self-service kiosks are working best in its new John Lewis at Home store, perhaps because of the edited range it offers. Mothercare uses kiosks for the same reason, to expand the range that customers are able to purchase in its smaller stores.
Multichannel nursery retailer Kiddicare has found that more than 50% of sales at its Peterborough superstore are made through the kiosks it has dotted around the store.
And HMV has begun using self-service kiosks to sell video games and DVDs.
Do they have a long-term future?
For the next five years at least more kiosks are likely to pop up in stores to support retailers’ multichannel strategies. In the longer term
they are likely to be replaced by consumers’ own devices - such as mobile phones.
Once customers have phones that allow easy browsing of a retailer’s website, plus the kiosk functionality to pay for goods that they want to purchase in store that day, then the need for kiosks will subside.
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