From fast food restaurants to fashion boutiques, coffee chains to convenience stores, self-service kiosks are popping up everywhere. Their benefits are well established. They speed up service, cut queues, free up staff and empower customers, which doesn’t just lead to higher satisfaction and loyalty. Kiosks are also linked to increased spending, by giving customers time and space to buy what they want, how they want, and also through better-targeted up-selling.
The business case for running kiosks is strong. But that doesn’t hide the fact that introducing kiosks, especially in a small business, represents a sizeable investment. There are complexities and challenges to overcome, both technological and operational. Get your kiosk rollout right and the rewards are high. But you do have to get it right.
With a wealth of experience in POS implementations across the retail and hospitality sectors, Oxhoo is your ideal partner for ensuring your kiosk rollout delivers everything you need.
Here are five practical tips to help you make it a success.
1. Integration is everything
A kiosk might grab the attention of your customers. But if it doesn’t talk to the rest of your POS system properly, to your inventory system, your CRM, your loyalty program, it’s just an expensive ornament. Piecemeal introduction of any new tech without proper integration leads to messy workarounds, data silos, and frustrated staff and customers.
Whether you’re updating an existing setup or starting afresh, you should prioritise choosing equipment and software that complement one another, and work with installation specialists who understand how to make everything work as one.
2. Don’t skip on UX and peripherals
Customers expect kiosks to work simply, intuitively and without a fuss. Clunky interfaces can make users give up before they finish a transaction. Similarly, if someone can’t do everything they want at a kiosk, even simple things like scanning their loyalty card to redeem points, they won’t bother using it. That’s where having the right peripherals comes in.
Great kiosk UX combines high-performance touchscreen controls with user-friendly software and the right mix of physical components. It’s worth investing the time to get it right.
3. Build with AI in mind
AI is quickly moving from buzzword to business essential. And self-service is one of AI’s biggest boom areas. The AI for self-service market is forecast to grow by an incredible 42.6% CAGR over the next seven years to reach $102bn in value by 2032. It seems all but certain that the future of self-service will be AI-driven – and that means businesses need to ensure their kiosks are AI-ready.
Making sure your hardware can support evolving AI demands now will future-proof your next implementation and ensure you’re not caught out having to upgrade again earlier than you would like.
4. Go modular to cut future costs
Speaking of future adaptability, when it comes to making upgrades, no one wants to rip out and replace an entire kiosk just to update a single part. You can avoid that eventuality by switching to modular kiosk designs.
Kiosks with swappable components make maintenance and upgrades simpler and cheaper. Need a new CPU or touchscreen, or want to add a brand new cutting-edge component? Modular design lets your upgrade and add piece-by-piece, without disrupting service. It’s faster, more sustainable, and better for your budget.
5. Choose a partner, not just a supplier
Finally, we’ve already talked about working with an experienced implementation partner like Oxhoo to ensure your kiosk rollout is a success. It’s worth making the distinction between a genuine partner and a mere supplier whom you buy your kiosks off, but that’s it. A genuine partner offers hands-on design support, integration help, and service throughout the product lifecycle – not just a catalogue of kiosk models.
Great deployments happen when your chosen partner understands your business and helps you plan for the long run – not just the launch.