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: Just Wicca

Touch screen technology is used to self-scan food at a checkout, check-into a hotel, find a store in a shopping mall, and look at exercise class times at a leisure facility. But now they can also be used to tell the future!

Kiosks are aiding the psychic sector with features that enable a person to have a personal clairvoyant reading via a high definition kiosk interface.

The technology, by the Psychic Friends Network, is said to boost the supernatural industry which includes millions of people and has grown considerably since the 1990s.

Robert Klayman, CEO of News Age Entertainment, which has an exclusive licensing agreement, said: “It is now much more mainstream for a person to consult a psychic. This makes it the perfect time for us to bring this popular brand back.”

Whether one believes in the controversial topic of palm, tarot card reading and spiritual world, touch screen technology can help in that;

- The touch screen enables a person to still have the ‘human touch’ experience but without the need to wait and queue.

- Having a reading face-to-face and talking out loud about the death of a loved one can be too difficult for some people but a kiosk offers the chance to be able to discuss the sensitive subject but without the awkwardness of human interaction.

- The technology can link a person with a psychic from hundreds of miles away, so distance should never be a concern.

- The printer feature allows a person to print out the receipt and reading overview to keep as a souvenir.

- The payment feature means one can pay for the reading via a credit or debit card as opposed to carrying cash around.

- What is more, the kiosk screen can display information on bereavement help or advice.

So, just as kiosks can benefit the hospitality, retail, banking and transport sector; a kiosk can also profit the spiritual medium industry.

A retailing survey has revealed that the British economy is missing out on close to £850 billion in sales- simply because of poor customer service.

Findings by Best Buy UK show that some 85% of consumers would go out of their way to shop somewhere with better service and therefore businesses with poor service could be losing on their share of trade by up to £847 billion.

The research, which involved over 2,000 adults, found that 71% would pay more for good customer service and 71% wanted helpful and knowledgeable staff available when shopping.

A touch screen kiosk can benefit the retail industry immensely in that customers can be better focused on because staff can give their time to making their experience better, whilst menial tasks are taken care of by kiosks.

Deploying a kiosk is catering to modern day customer’s needs, as the survey found that most people do not want to be approached whilst they shop. Only a small minority, 23%, would like to be offered help within the first minutes.

Steve Jensen, managing director of Best Buy UK, said: “To thrive you’ve got to give customers the service they demand and deserve. We as customers shouldn’t have to put a price on good service. Unfortunately people perceive they have to pay more for what we believe should be a given. Every company is missing out on crucial sales if they don’t make customer service the focus of their business.”

The hospitality sector came out on top in the survey as it was the most likely to have satisfied customers, with 62% of restaurants and 45% of hotels.

Jo Causon, Chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said: “It is only companies that make great customer service a priority in store and in the boardroom too that will find success. Every business has to ensure that employees are given the right training particularly on those softer people skills to ensure they’re in the best position to deliver a positive customer experience. You have to fight for every customer now and keep them coming back or your competition will get there first.”

Protouch can help you please each customer by installing touch screen technology that offers more services in-store. A kiosk can help by offering more products online that they can buy there and then, ticket dispensing special deals and way finding features. Consider the future of retailing and better customer service with Protouch.

Some postal service experts have issued warnings to the general public that the role of the post office will demise and they are part blaming this with touch screen kiosks.

In the US alone, the postal service is facing a potential $8 billion deficit this year as mail volume declines and due to this over 3,600 post office stores are closing.

It is said that many rural areas and towns are being left without a post office but not necessarily the Postal Service as the network is already included in drug and grocery stores and self-service kiosks.

Described as the ‘dead letter office’, many retail post offices are being replaced with kiosks as a more convenient access to the Postal Service products and services. Customers’ needs are still being met but via touch screen technology.

Reports argue that a large percentage of citizens from across the world no longer use post offices to physically conduct their post business. A study showed that 35% of the American’s post service’s revenue is generated from self-service kiosks, the internet and smartphone applications.

The postal sector is merely updating itself with modern day times as is other industries and reaping the advantages of touch screen technology. The same service is being delivered but with cost-effective solutions, as fewer staffs is needed at each branch. And of those offices still open, the staff’s time is better spent enhancing customer experience rather than undertaking menial paperwork.

In such a fast paced society, customers are demanding self-service technology and a kiosk to reduce waiting times. As a business you can meet these requests with the help of Protouch; Europe’s leading manufacturer and distributor of touch screen technologies.

EyeClarity store in Melton, Australia

Many kiosks are installed in local hospitals and practices to aid healthcare professions check-in patients, take medical bill payments and provide wellbeing information.

Further touch screen units are deployed in retail outlets to provide consumers extra products to buy as well as way finding services.

But it seems that the features can be combined, after a touch screen kiosk was implemented in an optician store.

The “Myeyes” kiosk has been installed in the optometrist firm EyeClarity, in Melton, Melbourne, Australia. It won Business Review Weekly Australian Retailer of the Year 2011 Award for best use of technology.

The touch screen kiosks help the eye health care profession by allowing customers to choose eyewear to suit their lifestyle and budget without the need of a technical and further education (TAFE) dispenser to assist.

It can be complex when picking out eye wear especially in terms of finding glasses that look right on each individual’s face as well as choosing contact lenses that are suitable for the eyes. A touch screen can help when staffs are busy and sometimes people may be intimidated by the fact that vision and sight is a personal issue. By using the kiosk rather than a person, the consumer can find out which eye wear is right for them without the need to share personal details with a stranger.

The kiosk can provide all sorts of information on eye facts to aid consumers in looking after their eye sight and a payment feature would enable the eyewear to be bought there and then without the need for cheques or cash-transfers.

Many retail companies are reaping the benefits of touch screen technology; do the same in your business with Protouch.

There is an article on Kioskmarketplace.com that argues that self-service checkouts are in danger of checking out.

The site reports how a grocery store chain in America is pulling self-checkout systems from all of its 217 stores to focus on better customer service and how this could mean that self-service is on its way out.

A writer for the FINS career resource website noted that consumer surveys indicate that customers want to talk to people in retail environments but contrary research by Wincor Nixdorf AG shows that the majority of consumers would rather bank with a machine rather than a human.

David Hadesty, VP of Product Management for Wincor Nixdorf’s U.S. Banking Division, said automation is no longer a “nice to have” – it is a necessity and this correlates to the nation’s trust resting in machines rather than man, even in the retail sector.

The FINS piece referenced a recent Consumer Reports survey published earlier this month that indicates that not being able to find a store salesperson ranked among consumers’ top complaints but by deploying self-service units in retail stores for product browsing and purchasing, the staffs’ time is freed up more to better customer experience and be on-hand more efficiently when looked upon to answer questions.

Self-service technology is enhancing many industries including retail, government, banking, transport, education, health and more. And it is no surprise because self-service brings huge benefits to a business as well as the consumer. It reduces waiting times, gives the power to the customer, frees up employees time to do more important tasks and saves costs in the long-run.

The concept of self-service being in danger is absurd- as technologies grow and expand so is customers’ needs. Kiosks, digital signage and touch screen monitors are present to cater to these increasing needs and reflect the ever- changing society.

Visit Protouch to find out more…

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.

A kiosk is extremely diverse and can have multiple purposes, roles and functionalities.

From ticketing, information giving, purchasing, ordering and checking-in; a touch screen unit can serve almost any industry for any affair; and one of these is body-scanning.

We all know what it can be like to go clothes shopping and to try on a million and one things before buying because it just didn’t fit right. Multiple stores have their own dimensions so a size in one shop can be two sizes larger in another retailer. According to research in a women’s publication, the average woman tries on 15 pairs of jeans before buying one pair.

And it is due to this that a body-scanning kiosk can help. It can match shoppers’ bodies with the perfect fit and style of clothing so you can ditch trying on clothes in the changing rooms for hours on end and get out there and wear the new attire!

The touch screen technology can take body measurements and then match the results to the sizing specifications of their particular brand listed in the kiosk database. In no time at all basic demographic information is registered, whilst full clothed inside the booth and then a printer feature then enables the shoppers to print out the outcomes and give choices and options of what is available in-store that will fit her body best.

A Shopping Guide at one of the touch screen monitors and kiosk then guides the consumer on style, price and retailer that would fit perfectly. The reported high scores are said to bring the shopper more confidence in purchasing.

Where would it be ideal to locate the unit?

Perfect locations include in shopping malls and retail outlooks that give some form of discretion but are also right bang in the centre of where the consumers shop.

The system, called mybestfit kiosk, has be designed by Unique Solutions.

Protouch is the number one manufacturer and distributor of Touch screen

technology in Europe.

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.

A story recently hit the internet that stated automation is causing retail jobs to disappear.

U.S analysts say robots, vending machines and touch screen kiosks are to blame for human job losses as they are increasingly replacing workers.

The Los Angeles Times reported that as shoppers become more accustomed to using self-service units, the loss of retail positions is hampering the nation’s high unemployment rate.

It is estimated one in 10 Americans work in the retail industry but companies are increasingly turning to technology and its benefits to sell more products, improve customer experience and use fewer employees.

In January 2011 there were 14.5 million U.S retail workers, down 1.1 million from three years ago.

Sectors that are taking advantage of touch screen technology include shipping and warehousing jobs that can process packages quicker, virtual assistants are replacing customer service representatives and kiosks are reducing the need for checkout clerks.

Experts say the trend is worrisome and that retail positions could soon disappear altogether.

Here at Protouch we believe it’s less about total human replacement and more a case of better placing staff and giving customers the convenience of being able to opt for a kiosk should they wish.

In many environments automation is no longer a “nice to have” but a necessity, particularly in places where speed is a must; automating the right services brings great benefits to both a business and its customers.

Having said that, no matter how tech-savvy humans become machines cannot deal completely with 100% of situations and therefore a careful balance of staff to kiosks is a must.