Success in retail is commonly measured by two things: revenue-per-square-foot and customer service. Retail kiosks just so happen to be stellar at both!
The “Endless Aisle” Created by Retail Kiosks
Retail kiosks provide retailers with the benefit of an “endless aisle.” This concept means that popular, high-turnover merchandise can be placed on the sales floor, and less popular – but profitable – merchandise can be “stored” in the kiosks for customers to browse. The idea of the “endless aisle,” as made possible through a small-footprint kiosk, turns revenue-per-square-foot on its head because millions of dollars in sales could be coming from one tiny unit!
A major office supply retailer recently adopted the “endless inventory” strategy in an effort to reduce store footprints by 15%. In an industry where success is measured by revenue per square foot, it makes sense to squeeze as much product into the aisles as possible, and retail kiosks literally have no limit. By deploying these retail kiosks, customers are able to access over 100,000 items in this retailer’s catalog, and should a particular item not be in stock at the customer’s current location, the kiosk can direct the customer to another store, or allow the customer to purchase the item from the kiosk and have the item delivered. As a result of this program, participating stores for this retailer have seen double-digit sales gains!
Shoppers Love Retail Kiosks
Retail kiosks can also greatly enhance customer satisfaction through improved customer service and shorter wait times. Kiosks are amazing at helping answer customer questions – and require no training. Kiosks know the location of virtually any item in the store, and can also inform a customer if an out-of-stock item is located at another store. By strategically placing interactive informational kiosks throughout your retail locations, your customers will have their needs addressed quickly and easily without the added expense of maintaining a large human customer service staff.
It is clear that retailers are seeing increased ROI through the use of retail kiosks, but what do shoppers think?
A recent survey found that shoppers choose retail kiosks for the following reasons:
- 72% find them to be more convenient alternative
- 55% use them when there is a line at the cashiers
- 13% wanted to keep their transaction private
- 12% did not want to interact with cashiers, and as a caveat, 20% of Millennials did not want to interact with cashiers
Based on this survey, it is clear that retailers can improve customer happiness by deploying retail kiosks in their brick-and-mortar locations.
The Omni-Channel Benefit
One additional benefit of the “endless aisle” is customization. In cases where multiple colors or styles are available for a certain item, retailers can stock a generic display unit on the shop floor, and if a customer would like to customize the color or style, they can do so via the retail kiosk, ordering the item of their choosing in an e-commerce format. This type merger between brick and mortar retail and e-commerce is commonly referred to as omni-channel retailing, and has been shown to have a major positive impact on a retailer’s bottom-line ROI.
Olea’s retail kiosks offer large touchscreen and multi-touch screens that enable customers to easily customize multiple aspects of their desired products. For example, a customer may want to customize a pair of shoes, and could use the retail kiosk to easily swipe the screen to preview the different color options available.
Contact Olea Kiosks Today
If you are a retailer that is interested in creating an “endless aisle” in your stores, then contact Olea Kiosks today. We have over 40 years of experience in building state-of-the-art interactive retail kiosks for customers worldwide. Our kiosks are engineered and manufactured in the USA using the latest technologies and of the highest quality materials.
Contact us today to find out how Olea’s state-of-the-art retail kiosks can benefit your retail locations!
