As a common alternative to in-store staff, kiosks are quickly changing the economics of retail. As retail stores can often achieve greater ROI with multi-purpose kiosks, the staffing requirements of major retail stores are beginning to dramatically change. With informational kiosks, businesses are able to assign more staff to high priority customer service events, lower their reliance on floor staff, and empower customers to shop independently.

Moves towards self service in retail are likely to trickle down to other service-based industries. As a wider range of major companies experiment with in-store retail self service kiosks, smaller retailers and independent stores are likely to follow. With this comes a distinct shift in the way retail stores operate – staffing commitments are likely to be lowered, resulting in a new dynamic for retail stores and a significantly more lucrative per-customer ROI.

The retail industry is already seeing major shifts towards this model. With Nintendo of Japan’s integration of self service kiosks into their retail gaming outlets, customers are able to shop much more independently than before. With ticket machines taking over public transport, self service payment systems dominating supermarkets and shopping centres, and in-store information kiosks quickly moving into retail, the only question left is how quickly other industries will adapt to the new self service movement.