The retail industry has been through many trials and tribulations in the last 18 months. In addition to health and safety concerns taking over the market, changes in consumer behaviour have caused technological adoption to speed up drastically. This includes more shops adopting retail touchscreen kiosks.
Adopting new digital solutions is just one way for retailers to stay ahead of the game and continue providing excellent customer service. Better yet, if the retailer is able to integrate new technology into their current operations, they can drastically increase their efficiency. An excellent example of this is retail touchscreen kiosks. These clever screens bring a wealth of functionality to the retail industry offering wayfinding, self-serve capabilities, and digital product catalogues.
In this blog, we discuss 5 ways retail touchscreen kiosks are supercharging the shopper experience.
1. Digital Wayfinding with a Retail Touchscreen Kiosk
Large stores are difficult to navigate and can be a bit of a nightmare for new visitors. Whether the store has multiple stories, a complicated floor plan, or if it’s just a huge building, maps and wayfinding systems are essential. Ensuring your customers can easily navigate your stores is critical. If they get lost they may not be able to find their required items or departments. Not only does this likely leave you with a frustrated customer, but you may also lose out on valuable sales.
In the past, a traditional static map used to be the answer. A shopper would simply look at the map inscribed with the famous “you are here” location and work out how they get to their required destination. However, in a fast-changing retail landscape, these traditional maps haven’t stood the test of time. Locations on the maps become quickly outdated and shoppers are left confused wondering why they can’t find their favourite shop. In addition, it can be challenging for customers to physically trace their route – especially for larger locations.
Interactive kiosks in retail can be of great assistance here. An integrated digital wayfinding solution allows users to easily search for any specific location on-site and see the fastest way to get there. For example, if a customer is visiting a large shopping centre, they may be looking for one specific shop. The user can enter their desired shop name on the retail touchscreen kiosks. The kiosk will then serve up a tailored, direct route for the customer, right to their desired shop.
This can save a lot of time and energy for anyone who visits the retail space – energy, which could be used for shopping.
2. Promotion and Advertising on Automated Retail Kiosks
Nowadays, advertisements are everywhere we look. On the street, in movies, and on social media. In a world, which is so saturated with ads, it is crucial that yours stands out and actually attracts your prospect’s attention. In addition to a strong visual base, the promotional material should also include motion graphics and videos to achieve the best results. These are proven to achieve higher levels of engagement in comparison to other media formats.
In terms of ad engagement and avoiding ‘ad saturation’, print media doesn’t measure up anymore. Therefore, to create an effective ad, retailers should turn to digital solutions that take advantage of media formats that are proven to deliver. One option quickly being adopted by retailers is the digital kiosk. A large bright screen coupled with digital signage software allows for retailers to attention-grabbing videos and animations. In addition, users of these automated retail kiosks are not restricted to a single piece of content. They can have multiple pieces of promotional content running through on a playlist. This helps keep your screens fresh and engaging.
Through varied content, retailers are able to take advantage of inactive retail touchscreen kiosks. When the screen isn’t currently being used by a customer for wayfinding or as a digital catalogue, promotional content can play on the screen. This way retailers can take full advantage of the kiosk and make sure they are getting good use out of it at all times.
Furthermore, to engage customers, interactive elements could be integrated into the ads. This is possible due to the touchscreen function of the kiosk and would be an interesting avenue for retailers to explore. For example, a customer could play a short game and at the end win a discount coupon. Alternatively, an ad could include a “touch here to sign up” call to action. This can help increase sales/leads and allow advertisers to track ad performance.
3. Digital Product Catalogue and Stock Checker
One thing that’s great about online shopping is that you can immediately see if a product is in stock or not. Wouldn’t it be amazing if brick-and-mortar stores offered the same feature? People could just walk into a store, browse through a digital product catalogue and check if their desired product is available.
This could be achieved with the help of a touchscreen kiosk. Through clever digital signage software shops are able to create bespoke digital product catalogues. The retailer can then showcase its products on the kiosk via the catalogue. Additionally, an integrated stock checker function would ensure customers know if the product they want is available. This would no doubt make the shopping process smooth and seamless, as well as revolutionise store operations. Removing the need for staff looking through storage rooms to find the right products will save time for both employees and customers.
Enhancing store operations and experience with a digital kiosk is a great way to increase customer satisfaction and generate repeat visits.
4. Self-Service Retail Touchscreen Kiosk
The retail industry is slowly moving towards reducing in-store friction. Additionally, with digital acceleration being a post-pandemic trend, integrating technological solutions into store operations is no longer just an option – it’s an absolute must.
Many retailers are already using self-service checkouts and it’s high time all retailers integrate this feature into their operations. Self-serve screens and checkouts reduce the friction experienced by millions of customers each day. A retail touchscreen kiosk provides a solution. A customer can simply walk straight up to the kiosk and search for their products, or place an order, removing the need for finding an employee or standing in line.
Store visitors could easily purchase products through an automated retail kiosk, as they’re used to doing at a supermarket. This would completely transform the shopping experience and elevate the retailers that are digitally lagging behind. Kiosks like these could be used all over the industry to modernise stores and meet customer expectations.
5. Loyalty Schemes and Discounts
Sometimes nothing is more enticing to a potential customer than the opportunity to save money. Encouraging customers to sign-up to discounts and loyalty schemes are common practice when shopping online. However, these have proved harder to promote in brick-and-mortar stores. The process to sign up involves a large amount of friction and the customer would rather get on with their day.
Special offers make customers feel appreciated, as well as increase the likelihood of them returning to the store. Special offers have great power to increase the number of sales your stores make. There are many studies that have found out how special offers can create a sense of urgency, trust, and happiness. Therefore, it is critical for brick-and-mortar retailers to do what they can to get their customers enrolled in their loyalty programs.
Interactive kiosks in retail are one way stores can reduce the friction of loyalty scheme sign-ups. The kiosk could showcase a promotional message that invites the customer to sign up for a rewards program or offers them a discount coupon if they agree to be emailed marketing updates. The customer can use the touch-screen to sign up in seconds on site. This strategy could be tailored to any retail environment and would no doubt impress store visitors. After all, statistics show that consumers, who engage in loyalty programs are more likely to visit more frequently.
If you have any questions related to retail touchscreen kiosks, speak to an expert today. Call our friendly team on 02380 981110 or Email info@troudigital.com for a no-obligation consultation. Alternatively, click the button below.
