Several Xen X5 order and payment kiosks are to make their way to the Armoury store at the Emirates Stadium.

The kiosks will be one of the ways in which supporters can buy a stone at Armoury Square which is the new Arsenal landmark that pays tribute to the club’s greatest players and its fans with personalised engraved stones set in to the ground around benches. Located in front of Emirates Stadium, the square is a place where the fans will be side by side with the legends like Dennis Bergkamp, Charlie George and Ian Wright.

Each kiosk is kitted out with a touch screen, chip and pin, a receipt printer and a full body laminate and is linked up to the Armoury Square website. Fans can choose a stone, personalise it with their own message, process the order and pay at the kiosk. Their personalised stones will then become part of a permanent place in Arsenal F.C. history, creating a lasting, attractive feature that will define Arsenal football club and the fans that support it.

The kiosks are helping to create sales in preparation for the completion of the first phase of Armoury Square in Spring 2010 and will then continue to run while the square is developed further.

This month we at Protouch have a lot to shout about as we have been shortlisted for three awards at the Retail Systems Awards 2009.

The categories we are entered for are the, ‘Best Use of Technology in the Hospitality and Leisure Sector Award,’ for the Xen X5 Cineworld Kiosks, the ‘European Solution of the Year Award’ for the IKEA Xen X5 Kiosks and the Vogel Sales Buddy PC’s, as well as the ‘Technology Vendor of the Year Award.’

The winners for the awards will be announced on Thursday 29th October 2009 at the prestigious Awards Gala Dinner hosted by comedian Chris Barrie.

This month, we are excited to be exhibiting our three off the shelf kiosk designs at the KioskCom Self Service Expo 2009.

Starting on the 30th September at the Olympia in London, we will be exhibiting our Xen Kiosk Series for visitors to view and order on the same day. 

As well as exhibiting our multifunctional kiosk, Protouch’s managing director, Tom Quarry will be taking part in the education programme, holding a seminar at 1.45pm-2.15pm on the 30th September called ‘EPoS for the store of the future.’

Tom will discuss Protouch’s award winning EPoS kiosk hardware, focusing on the Kiddicare case study. Attendees will learn how our award winning kiosk managed more customers with less staff costs, as well as increasing customer spend and enhancing the sales processed in store.

Our stand will be based at 162 and will display the wall mountable Xen X4, the award winning slim floor standing Xen X5 and the larger floor standing Xen X6.

All users and resellers are encouraged to come along to our stand to talk to our team about their kiosk needs. We have a wide range of applications that can be installed onto the kiosks to make them relevant to each business such as: an Internet kiosk, ticket kiosk, payment kiosk, information kiosk, card dispensing kiosk and much more.

We at Protouch want to meet the extremely wide need for self service kiosks and make kiosk deployment simple. Our kiosks offer numerous accessory combinations which can easily be modified, at any time.

Customers simply select what they want, choose their accessories and graphics; resulting in a fully customised kiosk.

Our kiosks on display have already proven themselves to be successful products in varying industry sectors. Refined over the last nine years each kiosk is set to meet three specific economies of scale; quality, price and reliability, suitable for end users and retailers.

This strategy has seen us achieve a top quality kiosk system in the award winning and innovative Xen X5 Kiddicare Kiosk, which will be fully explained in Tom’s kiosk seminar.

As well as the kiosk seminar and exhibition, we will also be taking part in the Minicom Digital Signage Expert Tour KioskCom. This free tour will provide an overview of a selection of carefully hand-picked exhibitors, following the accurate path of the digital signage supply chain.

From content creation to digital measure ment, the tour will outline how they fit into the overall Digital Signage Puzzle.

The tour has been specifically designed to give visitors a bird’s eye view of the overall application by providing the full end-to-end story with real live demos of each piece in the puzzle, and overview of the solution which visitors would not normally get. Visitors can sign up for the tour here.

Protouch have won a second award for their self service Kiddicare kiosks.

At the Retail Week Technology awards ceremony Protouch won the EPoS Initiative Award alongside Kiddicare and K3 as well as the BT Multichannel Integration Award, which the kiosks played an integral role in.

“From the moment we installed the kiosks we immediately achieved 50 per cent self service. The kiosks have opened up exciting growth opportunities to us”, said Scott-Weaverswright of Kiddicare.

The winners were announced at the prestigious London Hilton, on Park Lane on June 16, 2009 where Protouch won the EPoS Initiative award for successfully introducing self-service order and payment kiosks to the Kiddicare superstore. Now more than 50 per cent of its customers use the kiosks, and as well as improving service, they have increased shopper spend.

Joanna Perry the Technology & Special Features Editor for Retail week said about the awards, “Retailers and technology suppliers came together to celebrate the industry’s achievements in the past year; between them thay have shown how technology can be used for maximum impact across all operational areas of a retail business. While cash for IT investment is harder to come by, the winning implementations and projects have shown how the return can be both quick and substantial when new systems are closely linked to business needs”.

For more information about the Kiddicarekiosk or any other of Protouch’s products visit the website at www.protouch.co.uk today.

Self service systems can be ideal as ticketing kiosks to take the pressure off the box office during busy hours. That way the hours of service are extended beyond normal box office hours and can reach remote locations and tap into heavy walk-by traffic.

Main features:

Collecting Tickets 

Customers who have booked to go to the cinema online or by the telephone can collect their pre-paid tickets via a self service kiosk.

Tickets are generally printed using the kiosks internal printer.

Booking and Purchasing Tickets

If the box office is busy or there are no staff around, customers can simply walk in and book and purchase their tickets directly from the touch screen kiosks at their leisure. You can even allow customers to pay by means of gift cards, coupons or credit/debit card.

Collecting tickets via subscription

Subscribers can use subscription card / credit card to collect their event tickets.

Real Time Pricing and Availability

Using a self service kiosks allows customers to know that the tickets are definitely available, that they can choose their own seats and that the pricing is up to date.

Touch Screen Ticketing Interface

The screen should look and feel customisable so that it is easy to use for customers and provides all the relevant information they need to purchase or collect their cinema ticket.

A kiosk manufacturer who has recently helped a cinema chain increase their self service usage is Protouch. The cinema giant rolled out the manufacturers Xen X5 and X4 kiosks into a number of its UK cinemas. The kiosks are used for both Cineworld’s Unlimited film programme and for ticket collection.

John Anderson Cineworld’s Marketing Co-ordinator said, “The Unlimited program is a large and important part of Cineworlds business and distinguishes them from every other cinema company in the UK and Protouch’s X5 kiosk is helping advance the programme.”

For more information about self service kiosks and how they can benefit you visit Protouch today.

When running any business it is important that the products and services in your store are specifically placed and delivered at ease to your target market.

For instance if you own a toy shop, you are highly unlikely to put the expensive life-size toy train on the top shelf away from tiny childrens eyes. Instead, you would have it centre stage, in the middle of the store so children can test it out and beg their parents to buy the toy giving you the perfect sale. And the same goes for self service kiosks.

Self service kiosks should be a welcoming invite for customers arriving at your business. Whether you are selling products or offering services, information or advice, a self service kiosk should stand out and scream, ‘I am here and I can help you!’

Not only this, the content on a self service kiosk should lend a hand to all your customers, particularly parents who may have their kids in tow. Picture the scenario.

Family day out to the shopping store and Mum needs to buy a new pram for the new baby on the way. With mum, dad and two children in tow, the family head to the shops knowing that in about one hours time the children are going to be bored…and very stressful.

They arrive at the store to find all the staff preoccupied on the till or with other customers and they need to find information about a certain product and what it includes. The kids are getting agitated and would much prefer to be at home and start to cause hassle for the parents.

Generally the parents would get too stressed to wait, leaving the store without their desired purchase and you out of pocket.

Solution? A self service kiosk which can provide all the information available about the product, the price, alternative and added items, opportunity to purchase at the kiosk or pre-order online, and most important, a happy customer.

Customers like to come into a store and get the best service possible especially if they have a busy lifestyle. They don’t want hassle or fuss and would much prefer to be in and out as soon as possible. Yet this cannot happen if their are no alternative services available if all your staff are pre-occupied.

A fantastic example of a store who implemented self service kiosks in to their company is UK baby website, Kiddicare. Kiddicare wanted to expand their multi-channel marketing strategy and installed Protouch’s award-winning kiosk to improve in-store offerings by allowing customer to purchase individual brand merchandise via the kiosk.

The kiosk model used was the Xen X5 with 19” touch screen, Verifone Secura chip and pin unit and an 80mm receipt printer, each one looks very cool with an individual full cover branded laminate. The software was produced by K3, who partnered us in the Kiddicare solution. 

Tom Quarry, managing director of Protouch commented, “The Protouch and K3 kiosk solution leads the way for the retail sector by showing a glimpse of the store of the future. Our kiosks make the sales process faster, simpler and hassle free, so much so that customers are spending 4x more at the kiosks than they are at Kiddicare’s tills”. 

Till Death Us Do Part download

So don’t leave your customers waiting around in the aisle’s any longer and contact Protouch today to find out about how your business can benefit from a self service kiosk.

The self service industry is growing rapidly as many businesses across a wide range of industries attempt to offer their customers easier and faster services.

Take an airport for example. Just about every airline uses self service kiosks to handle automated tasks. The systems are easy to use and keep the lines down to a minimum, giving the customer complete control over his journey.

So where is the downfall? Well, the problem with self service kiosks lies within the actual kiosk itself. When they do work they are the worlds answer to quick and efficient customer service, the very best in the business. When they don’t, they are all what is wrong with customer service and the convenience and efficiency trophy goes out of the window.

However, for those customers that moan about self service kiosks, then now is the time to embrace yourself as self service systems are expected to grow within all sectors as retail chains, supermarkets, hotels, hospitals jump on board the automated checkout trend.

In fact, by 2012 the number of transactions put through self service kiosks will have reached $1.7 trillion according to a report released by IHL Group last year.

And in response, a report has revealed that many consumers prefer to use self service kiosks and would like to see them further developed to allow them to renew their drivers licence, (76%) checking the status of items they have ordered online, (71%) purchasing transit or airline tickets (62%) making photocopies (57%) and ordering flowers, books and other items. (54%)

In fact self service kiosks are constantly being adapted to fit around the consumer and minor problems are always going to occur before getting to the perfect product.

To eliminate any problems, companies should also be aware of what they are specifically using the kiosks for and how they would benefit their business in the long run.

Consumers will complain if a service is not running properly or a system is down, but if staff are on hand to resume the problem, the potential disaster can completely disappear.

At Protouch, the team are dedicated in providing top quality services to their clients. Their award winning Xen X5kiosk used at retail outlets such as Ikea, Kiddicare and Cineworld has seen all three companies successfully integrate the kiosk around their customers due to the flexibility and durability of the system.

With a range of high class products available, Protouch can ensure that they work around you and your business so that self service kiosks can be a help to your company.

Visit Protouch today for more information and to see the complete collection of self service kiosks.

Cinema giant, Cineworld have rolled out Protouch’s award-winning Xen X5 and Xen X4 across a selection of its cinemas nationwide.

The self service kiosks will be used for both Cineworlds Unlimited Film programme and for ticket collection.

In 2008, Cineworld, the second largest multiplex cinema in the UK installed the kiosk into five of its cinemas, including Glasgow, West India Queys and Cheltenham.

The self service kiosks are situated at the foyer and are used for customers to sign up to the Unlimited Film Programme that entitles visitors to watch any film, any day, at any time and at any Cineworld Cinema from just £13.50 per month.

Cinemagoers simply sign up by entering their details into the self service kiosks.

From this an A4 receipt with a photo of the member on is printed out, which they can use as identification until their membership card arrives in the post.

In the six months that the self service kiosks have been operating, the cinema chain have seen impressive results, with membership increasing 100 per week.

Due to this success, Cineworld plan to further install the Xen X5 kiosk into all of its cinemas, selling the Unlimited programme.

John Anderson, Cineworld’s Marketing Co-ordinator, said, “The Unlimited programme is a large and important part of Cineworlds business and distinguishes them from every other cinema company in the UK and Protouch’s X5 kiosk is helping advance this programme.”

On the back of the success of the X5s. Cineworld has greatly expanded its kiosk operations and is now rolling out 34 of Protouch’s new Xen X4 kiosks into 13 of its UK cinema sites.

The X4s will be used by cinema goers for the ticket purchase and collection and will run as either a wall or floor mounted kiosks using the latest Chasis Printer technology for printing ticket receipts.

Collectively, the kiosks have brought down ticket purchasing handlin and paper costs and are particularly beneficial for managing customer data.

Protouch are currently Europe’s number one manufacturer and distributor of touch screen equipment. Their award-winning Xen X5 is the star of the Xen kiosk range after winning the Retail Systems Awards 2008 EPoS Innovation of the Year.

For more information about Protouch and its products, visit www.protouch.co.uk

Here is our new video for the award winning Xen X5 EPoS kiosk.

The model is leading the way for self service payments in store and running in Kiddicare, Ikea and Cineworld to name a few.

But EPoS is just one of its functions, it also works as an information, internet, customer feedback, registration point and more.

Watch the video and see how it could benefit you and your business.

For more information about the Xen X5 and any other of its products and services, visit Protouch today.

The smell of success as Protouch takes the retail industry by storm

Protouch this week have shown just why they are the No.1 manufacturer and distributor of touch screen equipment through their successes in the retail industry.

Following the success of the new Xen X5 touch screen kiosk, Protouch has welcomed increasing interest from other retailers wishing to improve their sales, as well as awards for their achievements in touch screen technology.

This week has seen the touch screen technology company announce that IKEA have implemented a suite of Xen X5 kiosks into each of its stores in a bid to get customers to sign up to their IKEA FAMILY loyalty scheme. The 19″ touch screen device will allow customers to sign up to the loyalty scheme in-store, find out about upcoming promotions, sales and events. Currently 18 of the kiosks are in use across six IKEA stores in Belgium, with plans to roll out more kiosks across stores in Europe.

Tom Quarry, managing director of Protouch, said, “We are really excited to be involved in Quants’s kiosk solution for IKEA. It is great to see our kiosks working so well within the project by improving IKEA’s operations and enhancing in-store experience for its customers.”