WHY SELF-SERVICE KIOSKS ARE ON THE RISE
With consumers becoming more comfortable with using technology to accomplish tasks, the demand for digital transactions is on the rise. This has created an opportunity for self-service kiosks to take the spotlight for retail. The retail service industry is still the largest user of self-service kiosks, followed closely by banking, ticketing, and healthcare.
Kiosk deployers, manufacturers, integrators, and consultants believe the economy is strong, but more importantly, the demand for self-serve technology has reached a record pitch. (ICX Summit).
Growth in Sales
Major players across multiple industries that have been experimenting with kiosks have seen growth in sales by improving the consumer experience by cutting down wait times, increasing order accuracy, and overall operational efficiency. A great example of this is McDonald’s, who are actively adding self-ordering kiosks to stores in an effort to offer another path for digitally inclined consumers to order. They anticipate adding digital self-order kiosks to 1000 stores per quarter through the next decade.
This increased demand for kiosks is in large part due to the innovation that is happening. Kiosk manufacturers are continuing to add features that are attractive to consumers, like the added value of saving time by providing service for routine questions and supporting frequently asked questions by consumers. With self-service kiosks, having cashless payments as an option has also proven to be a positive benefit for potential customers who prefer to use digital forms of payment.
Cashless Payments
Mobile payment methods have been on the rise as a preferred method for the last few years. In fact, a report from Mordor Intelligence shows that mobile payment methods are on a steady increase of about 26% since 2018. If consumer behavior is trending toward mobile payment methods, Kiosk manufactures would be wise to intergrade this future into future designs.
Many kiosk manufacturers have made proactive moves to satisfy the consumer with this option. This also creates another route for kiosks to become even more convenient in the consumer experience, and connectivity is key to these machines providing a seamless experience and building trust with the consumer.
The Future of the Industry
The self-service kiosk industry is forecasted with a continued growth pattern by about 13% year-over-year until about 2024, according to a CAGR report. With large companies making the commitment to include kiosks into their business models, it’s a huge indicator that we are just at the beginning of what the future holds for the kiosk industry.
