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Here at Protouch, we are continually writing about different industries in the UK that are benefiting from touch screen technology.
We have previously mentioned in a blog post about how kiosks are helping the brewery sector where interactive touch screen devices guide consumers through all the different beer options that are available at a bar; but what about drinks in general?
There are examples of kiosk maintained cafés, which similar to Internet cafes, enable consumers to browse the internet at leisure whilst eating. However, these are unmanned and customers can order their drinks at the table via a touch screen unit such as Protouch touch screen PCs.
One doesn’t have to wait to be served by a waitress; decide what you are drinking and input the order yourself with an installed self-service kiosk. Fast food restaurants and cafes are always looking for ways to streamline their business to increase staff efficiency without compromising customer service and touch screen technology does just so.
A computerised system is already deployed in many fast food companies to allow a consumer to order food and drink electronically by themselves but a unit can also be installed next to some computers in a café for the users to order without having to look away from the screen.
The kiosk display is a great platform to advertise on to promote new special offers or incentive schemes and money doesn’t even have to transfer between hands as payment can be taken at the kiosk too with a ticketing dispenser feature that offers a receipt.
With fewer staff needed to take drinks orders, the employees can focus their time and efforts on more important tasks like enhancing customer experience. Nowadays Britons demand fast paced and speedy service, especially if they have a limited dinner break or are in a rush running errands.
Let your business’s customers order their own drinks and deploy some Protouch touch screen software this year.
A deployed touch screen kiosk can help a business throughout the year and it can also reap huge benefits at Christmas time.
The technology can be used to offer information, printing services and way-finding signage and all these features are extremely helpful in the festive season.
Fundamentally, the industry which can profit the most from the technology at this time of year is the retail and hospitality sector.
WAY-FINDING
A kiosk that offers way-finding services is very useful in shopping centres, especially during the mad shopping rush to purchase Christmas presents. Many shoppers may not know where stores are located, so to ease the strain a unit can help by providing a map of the mall.
TICKETING
The ticketing features enable customers to print out vouchers and discounts on offer at retailers or eating establishments. Improve consumer interaction by encouraging them to go online in-store and print out coupons to get fantastic bargains.
INFORMATION
An information kiosk ultimately provides a customer an advanced array of products to buy in-store. If there is a gift idea that a person really wants to buy but it is sold out in-store, the touch screen allows the shopper to still purchase the item and see an extensive collection of other products available to buy.
PHOTOS
And kiosks can also be valuable during the festive period for photographs. Photo kiosks that offer photo gifts including photo books, calendars and holiday cards can be personalised using the touch screen technology.
So if you want to put a picture of the family on all the Christmas cards that go out to relatives, or if you have purchased a pretty picture frame and want to put a nice festive picture inside, the kiosks come in handy.
It may be too late to install the technology in your business for Christmas this year but why not contact us today and discuss deploying some Protouch Touch Screen PCs in-store for the festive season next year.
Image Courtesy of Open Cage and reused under the terms of the Creative Commons Licence.
There are many restaurants across the world that benefit from touch screen technology. The hospitality sector has been reaping the advantages of installing kiosks and touch screen monitors in-store to reduce customer waiting times and enhance the consumer’s eating experience.
The fast food industry, with the exception of takeaway giant McDonalds, hasn’t really adopted kiosk systems; however that is all about to change. So what is the scoop on self-service ice cream kiosks?
A robot-making ice cream server has been created to transform the way retailers sell the frozen dessert. It sounds like something out of a science fiction film but it really is reality and the units have been deployed in varying locations across America.
Robofusion is a self-service kiosk that allows food fanatics to create their own five-layered ice cream treat without human assistance.
The robotic kiosk gives its customers a souvenir cup and fills it to exact specifications, fusing technology and fun to deliver a unique customer experience. The kiosks reportedly require about 45 square feet and come as a corner, flat wall or free standing unit.
According to the Self-Service Future Trends 2011 report, produced by the Digital Screenmedia Association, the restaurant industry will benefit 12.8% from self-service technology in the next five years.
By deploying kiosks in your restaurant or fast-food business, you can cut costs as less employed staff are needed to take orders but a workforce is still required to help customers operate the units.
Protouch can help you harvest the rewards of self-service technology- as Europe’s number one manufacturer and distributor of touch screen technology.
Let’s just hope the ice-cream kiosks don’t freeze over…
Pic Credit: Inventor Spot
A common technology trend that is expected to come into fruition over the next few years is facial recognition.
The director of Intel’s Retail Marketing and Communications unit, Christopher O’Malley, has argued that facial recognition technology will become extremely population as a tool to provide shoppers with more targeted information in-stores.
It involves the scanning of consumers’ faces to determine the approximate age and gender in which then certain products can be displayed on the kiosk interface dependent on that shopper’s specific profile.
A number of brands have already jumped on the band wagon such as Kraft and Adidas and they have already deployed the software in-stores to improve customer experience. It has already been adopted in countries like Japan and is installed in industry sectors like retail (shops), hospitality (restaurants) and entertainment (theme parks).
The technology can be used on kiosks, walls and digital signage and works for example, by advertising a female consumer in her fifties a range of goods that are suitable for her age and lifestyle. Adidas’s Vice Present of Global Retail Marketing, Chris Aubrey, says that “if a retailer can offer the right products quickly, people are more likely to buy something.”
Accurate demographic and lifestyle information is therefore vital for this technology to work e.g. a female aged between 25-29 years old is more likely to have children at home and so kids products can be suggested. Or a male in his sixties is prone to having more disposable income to buy luxury items like cars or gadgets.
The software has even been developed on social networking site Facebook, in which the tool automatically recognises people in photos put online to tag them in the picture.
Protouch cares about upcoming touch screen trends. As Europe’s leading manufacturer and distributor of touch screen technology, we are excited about future trends for kiosks and we work hard to be at the forefront of relevant industry news.
Pic Credit: The Associated Press
Touch screen kiosks can feature a dispensing option for customers, regardless of the industry of deployment.
A kiosk can dispense tickets for the football sector, receipts for leisure and tourism, coupons in retail, wine in hospitality industry and even prescription drugs to customers who need the service 24 hours a day, without the assistance of a staff member.
This enhances customer power and allows them to carry out tasks independently, so staff time can be used more efficiently improving customer experience rather than doing menial paper work tasks.
And now it seems that as well as dispensing these basic products, kiosks can also dish out baguettes.
A baker in France has deployed a round-the-clock automated baguette dispenser that promises to warm bread any time of the day or night.
The kiosks, which cost $71,000 each, finish baking partially pre-baked baguettes and customers don’t need to spend a lot of ‘dough’ because they dispense the hot loaves for just one Euro.
The baker, Jean-Louis Hect, calls the bread-baking and dispensing touch screen technology “the bakery of tomorrow.”
So far, one kiosk has been installed in Paris which sold 1,600 baguettes in the very first month and nearly 4,500 in July 2011; and another unit has been deployed in another town in France.
So if you want to reap the advantages of touch screen technology as is the bread-baking food sector; install a kiosk in your business today with the help of Protouch. And do not fret- they will be the yeast of your worries…
Pic Credit: The Consumerist
Wine kiosks in America that have caused controversy since deployment have now been given their last orders (sorry for the cheesy pun!)
Complaints from consumers about the touch screen kiosks that sell wine have resulted in the units being given the boot from one supermarket chain.
Wegmans Food Markets, which has stores located across many states, have pulled out of the much-criticised wine-kiosk program in Pennsylvania stating that they had hoped customers would find the units to be a valuable addition to shopping experiences but that proved not to be the case.
A statement from the firm said that the supposedly user-friendly kiosks had in fact backfired, saying: “The kiosks have not realised their potential, and in some ways have been detrimental to our stores.”
Based in Rochester, New York, the supermarket chain had protested to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) arguing that the machines often malfunctioned leading to a significant volume of customer complaints. Wegmans had installed 10 of the 22 active units in Pennsylvania.
The PLCB first proposed the technology proposals back in 2008 for the deployment of up to 100 kiosks. The units would hold up to 500 bottles of wine and include biometrics and other security measures in the mission to enhance self-service alcohol sale.
The first exampled units were rolled out as part of a pilot scheme last year in June 2010 but expansion plans since have been haltered to address mechanical issues.
Keep up to date with all the Touch screen technology news across industry sectors with Protouch.
The fast food industry is one of the quick service sectors to gain the most from deploying kiosk systems; to reduce waiting times and put the power in the consumer’s hands.
Restaurant and take-away firms such as Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC would benefit immensely from installing touch screen units that would enable the customer to place and pay for their own order via the interface.
Until now, kiosks haven’t really taken off in the UK as much as it has in America or other parts of Europe; that is in the fast food industry. A consumer could only order their chicken nuggets and happy meal deal from self-service kiosks in McDonald’s if they lived in France, where the concept was initially launched. However, now McDonald’s UK is embracing the technology.
The fast food giant is employing 7,000 touch screen terminals and swipe cards across its European outlets.
Steve Easterbrook, President of McDonald’s Europe, said the changes will make life easier for consumers as well as improves efficiency. He expects average transaction times for its two million daily customers will shorten three to four seconds.
The technology aids to harness more information on customer’s ordering and dining habits as well as enable customers to pay simply by swiping a debit card; making the company the first fast food chain to introduce contactless payments.
In 1200 of the UK locations, staff will also be hired to take additional orders from customers via handheld terminals.
Benefits of touch screen technology in fast-food restaurants include;
- Control of ordering process leads to better accuracy
- Single point of administration and reporting, hassle-free.
- Management costs are low, integration is easier than ever.
- New product placement exposes variety of menu and increases sales.
Social media is a phenomenon and one that has taken over the world. Social networking site Facebook now has over 400 million worldwide users and Twitter is shortly following behind with nearly 50 million tweets per day. The interactivity is ever growing and it is estimated that social networking accounts for 11% of all online activity.
Similarly, millions of people across the globe go shopping; whether it is for food, clothes, furniture etc. everyone shops.
So if two trends are equally as popular with consumers, then why not integrate them?
Interactive shopping experiences really engage with a customer and it is important for all retailers to participate and get involved with its consumers. By offering loyalty schemes a business can increase its customer loyalty attention, attract potential customers from rival firms and rise profits; which is why a company has lodged a patent- pending technology.
Beanstalk Loyalty hopes to install the first loyalty platform of its kind to integrate the point-of-sale (POS) terminal and social media; converging shopping and Facebook.
The deployed kiosks, with the customer’s permission, will enable a firm to check into Facebook Places, post on their wall and potentially influence their friends while at the same time giving loyalty registration.
There are exampled units deployed in industries that offer social media services however none currently have a connection with loyalty programmes and POS terminals. At the moment, people can check themselves into locations so one can see where a person has been but the service doesn’t offer consumers to share what they actually bought.
Reportedly, this is little use to marketers to learn more about the consumer’s behaviour and preferences. By knowing what was purchased, the marketer can use this info to tailor loyalty offers for example; if they keep ordering chicken via the Touch screen, chicken coupons can be sent out rather than fish.
The Kiosk software works by allowing the user to swipe his or her loyalty card, register, pay and check in to Facebook offering data on what they just ate or bought. Even friends can get involved by clicking on the food produce and receiving discounts too!
Gilbert Bailey, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Beanstalk Loyalty, said: “Integrating the social network and the POS with the loyalty engine provides the marketer with ability to have an intelligent conversation both before and after the transaction to deliver true closed-loop marketing.”
Install a Touch screen kiosk in your business and build a better relationship with your consumers with Protouch; Europe’s number one manufacturer and distributor of touch screen technology.
Many people have been in the exact same situation on a night on the town; you walk into a bar and look at the menu but have absolutely no idea what you want to drink.
Some socialisers prefer to drink the same beer every time they go out-others may want to try something new and exciting but don’t know where to begin. Consumers were experiencing this difficulty when they entered a bar in America called the El Bait Shop. Known as the home of the biggest selection of American microbrews in the world, this bar has over 300 beers for its thirsty guests to choose from.
From Extra special bitter or India pale ale, to Imperial stout or Belgian pilsner; how do you know what to drink if you have never tried it before? Simple; use a touch screen display that tells you what brew is right for you.
An interactive touch screen device can help improve a business by informing and guiding the beer drinkers through all the beer options that are available at the bar. The display merely lets the consumer tap, browse and look through all the beer products catalogued via a screen to aid in the important decision of what drink to enjoy.
And the “beer genius” will guide the consumer by matching beers to the drinker; in effect telling you what beer you want to have. It offers information on ingredients, flavour descriptions, brewing technique and history of each and every beer.
Such a multi-touch screen device can really benefit the beer drinkers by enabling the user to use a search mode and search for a particular brew by name, brewery or type of beer; and if there are any new arrivals the screen can display this.
What’s more, when the unit is idle announcements and adverts can be projected so any news on up and coming gigs or special offers can be featured.
So install a Touch screen kiosk in your business or social establishment today with Protouch; Europe’s number one manufacturer and distributor of Touch screen technology.
Kiosks are the most fitting solution to reduce customer waiting time and put the power and control in the consumer’s hands.
Until now, the fast food industry is one of the quick service sectors that haven’t really adopted kiosk systems.
The whole concept started out in 2006 when Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King and Arby’s started trying out the kiosks systems which allowed customers to place and pay for orders via the units.
While they have attempted to add kiosks here and there, there has not been as massive explosion on the kiosk side as many of us had anticipated in the UK.
We previously wrote about New York’s John F Kennedy and La Guardia airports installing kiosks that offer meal orders from its participating restaurants. The launched initiative allows you to order your meal deal on an iPad.
While this is a progression in touch screen technology, you can still only order your chicken sandwich from self-ordering kiosks in McDonald’s if you live in Europe.
Most of McDonald’s kiosks are located in France, where the concept was initially launched. But good news seems to be on the horizon.
Agnes Vadnai, Director of European communications at McDonald’s Europe, said: “However, self-order kiosks are now being deployed also in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, UK and the Netherlands, with additional plans for roll-out in further markets in 2011 and beyond.” No plans have been made in America.
The concept of kiosks in fast food restaurants is that you can order and pay for your meal without the help from employees; freeing them of time to do more important tasks like make the food.
With more time to make the food, it will be made quicker so therefore customer waiting times will reduce and profits will soar.
Why is the trend just catching on? In a study in 2011 on the self-service industry which surveyed more than 200 business leaders, 21 per cent said they were planning to deploy self-service options in restaurants.
This is due to the fact that consumers are embracing self-service technology more now than ever before. Many prefer self-service face to face interaction because of its privacy, accuracy and personalisation and the desire is growing.
Findings published in a 2010 survey revealed that more than half of all respondents polled that they would be more likely to choose a quick-service restaurant (QSR) that offered self-service technology for ordering food.
And further results showed that nearly half of the participants said they’d walked away from a QSR due to long waiting lines.
Benefits include;
- Control of ordering process leads to better accuracy
- Single point of administration and reporting, hassle-free.
- Management costs are low, integration is easier than ever.
- New product placement exposes variety of menu and increases sales.
Today’s best solutions are fully integrated with point of sale, menu boards, online ordering and smartphone ordering.
For drive-thru restaurants, self-service kiosks for the window that can move up or down depending on the height of your car is suffice.
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