February 15, 2008Kiosk Research - Summary of Kiosk market from VDCExcerpt: According to VDC's recently released Kiosks for Self-Service and Interactive Applications: Technical and Vertical Market Analysis, the retail market for complete kiosk solutions exceeded $524 million in 2007 and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% through 2010. Approximately 210,000 kiosk units were deployed in retail establishments in 2007. Nearly 80% of kiosk installations within the retail vertical market are capable of conducting transactions. MoreRFID - Self-Service Kiosks: A Practical Platform for Growth Retailers are increasingly using Kiosks to move past the constraints of 'traditional' transactional management standards and procedures in attempts to provide more value to the consumer throughout their in-store experience. The consumer's in-store experience is no longer limited to a simple interaction with an employee or sales associate on the floor. Through recent deployments of self-service technologies (i.e., kiosks), retailers are redefining the way that they conduct business and interact with their customers. "Both the consumer and the enterprise have comprehended and embraced self-service kiosks and their value propositions," cites Rory Gardner, Research Associate for Venture Development Corporation (VDC). "In fact, recent research from our retail automation market intelligence programs indicates that enterprises are observing increased demand from consumers regarding the deployment and integration of self-service technologies (i.e., kiosks and self checkout solutions). Consumer comfort levels and preferences have become so strong regarding self-service technologies that many are beginning to use them as a key decision-making criterion when selecting a retail establishment." According to VDC's recently released Kiosks for Self-Service and Interactive Applications: Technical and Vertical Market Analysis, the retail market for complete kiosk solutions exceeded $524 million in 2007 and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% through 2010. Approximately 210,000 kiosk units were deployed in retail establishments in 2007. Nearly 80% of kiosk installations within the retail vertical market are capable of conducting transactions. Retailers continue the deployment of transactional-based kiosks due to their ability to improve customer loyalty and in-store experiences, provide operational efficiencies, and create new marketing and revenue-generating opportunities. Enterprises now have the ability to use information gathered from commonly deployed kiosk applications, such as loyalty programs, and incorporate that data into their new cross-promotional activities, cross-selling opportunities and catered/personalized marketing campaigns. As enterprises continue to place added importance on the collection, analysis and incorporation of customer-specific information, the consumer's in-store experience will improve. "We're seeing a convergence of informational and transactional kiosks particularly in the Micro/Mini kiosk segment," states Gardner. "Enterprises are now leveraging the value propositions of both types of kiosks to create a dynamic tool that can provide even more value to the consumer. While the customer is leveraging additional information (i.e., conducting a side-by-side comparison of all their product options), the retailer has a captive audience and an established platform through which they can promote other products, provide customer loyalty incentives/discounts, and introduce new products." Kiosks provide a robust platform for retailers to expand upon. New technologies and processes can be rapidly integrated and evaluated largely due to the ability to 'stack' new applications on top of the existing platform, thus simplifying integration and minimizing costs. The most prevalent example of this can be seen in the evolution of the ATM. ATMs began as an application specific solution with very limited flexibility (i.e., exclusively for personal banking). Over the past few decades, the ATM has been able to provide more value via the addition of several complementary applications (i.e., bill payment). Kiosks are currently positioned to experience a similar evolution. As consumer comfort levels with self-service technologies continue to increase, they could play a major role in the development and deployment of new applications and technologies, functioning largely as a 'beta-test' for enterprises. VDC analysts will be attending KioskCom April 16 - 17, 2008. To schedule a meeting with an analyst, please contact Rory Gardner at rgardner [at] vdc-corp.com. VDC is currently engaging in their 2008 Retail Automation Equipment Planning Service. To view the program proposal for the upcoming study, please go to: http://www.vdc-corp.com/PurchasedDownloadFile.asp?type=proposal&id=2239 |