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Press Release
For further information:
Caroline Leigh
NCR Corporation
770-623-7608
Email
For Release on August 2, 2001
Easy-to-Use Web Kiosks Enhance Customer Service, Survey Finds
Consumers Welcome Proliferation of Self-Service Technology
ATLANTA--While many Americans have yet to use a self-service kiosk, most of those who have -- and even many who haven�t -- believe kiosks will enhance customer service, according to a survey conducted for NCR Corporation. The survey confirms general public acceptance of a technology that is expected to pass $1 billion in the next few years.
Of the 17 percent of respondents who have used a self-service electronic kiosk, nearly half (46 percent) did so at a mall, followed by grocery stores (39 percent), and airports (35 percent). Not surprisingly, younger people who have grown up with the Internet and are more comfortable with technology in general are more likely to have used the kiosks.
�In the age of pay-at-the-pump gas stations, self-checkout terminals and ATMs, people are used to serving themselves,� said NCR General Manager for Web Kiosks Nelson Gomez. �Market acceptance of these technologies is making them part of a broader range of services, from retail to transportation. Today people are most likely to use kiosks as part of a retail transaction; tomorrow they�ll be banking or checking their portfolios, renewing licenses from government agencies, making hotel reservations or buying plane, train, bus, subway and movie tickets.�
Those who have operated kiosks overwhelmingly found them easy to use. Ranked on a one-to-five scale ranging from very complicated (1) to very simple (5), 68 percent of users find them either very simple (44 percent) or simple (24 percent) to use. Only 3 percent say they are very complicated.
People associate kiosks with higher levels of service, particularly those who have used them. Among those who have used them, 57 percent say they improve service, with 36 percent of those who have not used them concurring.
�The fear that technology somehow makes the shopping experience less personal seems to be exaggerated,� Gomez observed. �People tend to see service as a continuum in which businesses are always looking out for their customers� needs, and companies using kiosks will be perceived as valuing their customers� time and convenience.�
The survey, by Opinion Research Corporation International, sampled 1,020 adults, consisting of 500 men and 520 women, 18 years of age or older, living in private households in the United States from June 8-11, 2001.
About NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a leader in providing Relationship Technology solutions to customers worldwide. NCR�s Relationship Technology solutions include the Teradata database and analytical applications for customer relationship management (CRM) and business performance management, store automation systems and automated teller machines (ATMs). The company�s business solutions are built on the foundation of its long-established industry knowledge and consulting expertise, value-adding software, global customer support services, a complete line of consumable and media products, and leading edge hardware technology. NCR employs 33,200 in more than 100 countries, and is a component stock of the Standard & Poor�s 500 Index. More information about NCR and its solutions may be found at www.ncr.com.
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NCR and Teradata are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries.
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