Kiosks in Grocery - Uptime is important!

This is not what you nor your customers want to see.

This was taken at a Cincinnati Kroger's grocery location yesterday as my wife and I shopped for our once a month groceries. The deli ordering kiosk which normally sits just inside of the entry to the main store, was sitting by the shopping carts corral with this ugly but obvious sign. When your customers become so familiar with and used to the self service kiosks you implement in your store, it can be a real disappointment to them when it's unavailable. And while no kiosk can have 100% uptime, you should at least move the kiosk out of their view when it is unavailable. Now, truth be told, I think this was temporarily set aside while they were remodeling the space it normally sits in. New floors, new drywall, new counter tops, etc. so they had good reason to have this kiosk out of commission, and there was a second kiosk closer to the deli. But I believe they could have put this near a power outlet and dropped a temporary Ethernet to it for connectivity. But maybe this is too much of an over simplification of what it would take (I don't know their setup and networking). This would keep the customers happy, and the deli running efficiently... all of the reasons you deployed to begin with.

On a similar note, we just installed new kiosks for Krogers in a new store that hasn't opened yet in Norwood, Cincinnati. These kiosks are for a completely different purpose in the Personal Finance section of the store. We worked with their vendor who creates a lot of their retail displays and store fixtures. They were to provide an "enclosure" around our IBM AnyPlace kiosk computer. But as of the time we brought the kiosks, connected and installed, they had not delivered the enclosures. As a matter of fact, the client had not even seen them yet. So this should be an interesting integration. We believe that we should have been engaged for the entire kiosk enclosure, software and hardware, and let that partner focus on what they do best. You know it's bad when the client contacts us to provide a turntable type solution to this yet unseen enclosure. Shouldn't that partner have provided that? Ah well, we will go above and beyond to ensure that this deployment goes well.

In the past we have also integrated kiosks into other grocery retailers for loyalty card systems. The kiosks are highly used and loved by the customers as a means to redeem their points and update their account information. In our initial deployment we had a problem with one of the printers not printing correctly and I was needed onsite to help troubleshoot (hardware firmware needed updating). Trust me, when you take one of the two kiosks offline even for a few minutes, the customers are not happy. They had to walk to the other entrance to use that kiosk instead, but they felt inconvenienced. And they were, but the point is that customers love self service. And when they become familiar and accustomed to using it, you need to ensure it is there for them. Don't disappoint your customers and don't take the easy way out. Keep that kiosk online!


Update: Weeks later my wife and I returned to do our weekly shopping (yes, we are trying to eat at home more often) and found to my delight that the staff had taken off the hand written note and put the kiosk back online! They had even improved the signage and branding on and around the kiosk. Nice job! The original location of the kiosk has been replaced with an in store clinic which may be a new trend in additional services being provided by grocers to enable customers to perform many tasks with one visit, ensuring customer loyalty and foot traffic. This explains why the kiosk was in transition and temporarily offline. My preference would be to not have any kiosk, than the one with the "out of order" note taped to it. Consumers need to know that systems are always working to build trust.



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A review of KioskCom May 2009

The KioskCom Self Service Expo show last week was really good. We were nervous going into it because of the economy. We wondered if customers would come out to the show. We were happy to see a great turn out by VP’s and decision makers with real projects in hand. In years past you would see multiple team members from a brand attend, perhaps marketing folks, IT staff and VP’s. Kind of a “design by committee” mentality. But this year, they seemed to not need to bring the whole committee out, just the decision makers, which all of the vendors appreciated. We met with folks from Motorolla, Ikea, Target, Ceasars Palace, Delta, American Airlines and many more.

Our booth showcased the new Lobstr application on a 37″ touch screen, the new Zebra Kiosk Print Station with our “Hike & Bike” kiosk concept, as well as our demo kiosk of various past customer implementations. Our partners at 5Point also showcased Lobstr on their newest enclosure for Interactive Digital Signage (IDS) Platform, the Concierge. Our app looked so cool on their 40″ screens that we are considering partnering with them to have this as our default hardware option for Lobstr. More to come on that soon.

Our booth chotsky was a full pack of Orbit gum. I figured it was better than most of the squeeze balls and pens given out by many vendors. And also the obvious reason which is that I was tired of talking to people with bad breath. Hmmm, I think Orbit just found their next commercial idea! Now if only I could brand the packaging with my company information it would have been perfect.

The educational break out sessions and tech talks were a big hit with attendees. DT Research gave a session on “Interactive Digital Merchandising: Expanding brand and product impact and creating customer engagement.” which is a topic we can get behind. Andrew Fischer did a great job in this session. Another session was titled “Return on Message - Optimizing your digital signage network for success. ” which was giving by Keith Kelson who is the Chairman of the Content Best Practices committee of the Digital Signage Association along with Roger Sanford of the MediaTile company. Return on Message (ROM) is the new buzzword in our industry and a methodology that provides standards based processes to guide companies through complex variables that must be considered for a successful digital signage deployment. This also showcased many of the best practices laid out by the association in the past years.

Speaking of the DSA (Digital Signage Association) of which I sit on the advisory board: we had our board meeting the night before the show at the M resort just south of the strip. This new Casino / Hotel was only 62 days old and our board members were treated to a behind the scenes tour of the facility and the technology used by their vice president of information technology, Rob Willis. I doubt I will ever get to see the NOC and security areas of another Casino in my lifetime, it was very interesting to see and learn about how they operate and how they use Digital Signage for both customer facing areas of the facility and also employee facing messages. I appreciate the hospitality of Rob Willis and the M Resort in Las Vegas. During this meeting we did a review of several committees, discussed goals, events and recapped the past year’s success. I am now the chairman of the PR & Marketing committee for the Digital Signage Association. We have some good people on the committee already, so I’m excited about working with them to help promote the association, drive awareness and education, and help increase membership of the DSA.

As for new technology, there was a lot of the same hardware at the show that has been seen before. I got a sneak peak at a new product from MicroVision which is a Pico Projector (ultra small projector) about the size of an Iphone. Useful in our industry for some small digital signage applications for rear projection, etc. However the brightness and resolution are the only current drawbacks I could see. This may be addressed in the second and third generations of this unique laser projector called ShowWX. See their site for a preview and watch for it to be launched later this year. The projector is unique because of an ultra tiny red, blue & green laser that allows the image to be in focus at any distance. It was really nice, but the first generation will likely be a consumer model. They are interested in finding new products they could embed the engine into, such as a cell phone, or other device.

We enjoyed the opportunities to talk with many customers about their projects, hardware or software needs and to explain to them once again, that no… we are not THAT Electronic Arts company in California. The “S” at the end of their name is short for dollar signs and no, our firm does not make games for the Playstation or Nintendo. You have to love our name, but the similarities do make it confusing. I’m pretty sure the lady at the Paris Casino was treating me really good because she thought that was our company when she saw my shirt. For a free drink… I didn’t correct her.

Target's view of an in-store digital signage network, not what you'd think.

I was at the Digital Signage Expo in Feb. 2009 and enjoyed meeting some of the Target staff. Chris Borek joined the Digital Signage Association's advisory board which I sit on and participated in lively discussions on the topics of the association, it's goals, social networking, and more. I must admit I did not get to hear him give his public talks on digital signage at the show. But I did get to talk to one of his co-workers at their booth who is actually in charge of online ad purchasing ( I think that's what she told me).

I was amazed to learn from her that Target's idea of an in-store digital signage network is as simple as the tv screens they have in the electronics department. That's it. They'll distribute their marketing messages to those 20 screens on the one wall and that is all they think should be done. The initiative is called "Channel Red". I asked her why they wouldn't put signs throughout the rest of the store and the response was that they had done research and determined that people wanted the store kept cleaner, simpler, no messaging. Hmmm, when did that ever stop any advertiser from putting their message out?

I suggested that the expo floor showed many good examples of tasteful and less "in your face" examples of good retail digital signage. Surely they could tastefully integrate it in select locations. Perhaps keep the messaging simpler than most video and commercial digital signage content that seems to be the norm. After awhile it makes your eyes bleed! I suggested that it could at least give them the economy and efficiency of replacing printed signage that has to be designed, printed, distributed, installed, etc. every time they want to change the message. Electronic distribution across stores / departments / particular end caps, makes a lot of sense over time and is greener in some regards to the above process. I got a blank stare with a nice smile... nope. They don't want to do that.

I discussed the obvious success of Walmart's in-store network where they charge brands to advertise on screen. It's a big revenue generator for Walmart and the brands. I know a brand that saw a huge increase in sales at Walmart each time they used Walmart TV. They loved it, and the consumers obviously used it too which drove sales in store. Walmart TV is selectively placed throughout the store. Albeit a bit high in the rafters. But no, they didn't want to be like Walmart. Well, okay. They had me there... Walmart is fast becoming one of the most hated retailers by many consumers. Love / hate, but mostly hate. So I can understand that response.

I really don't get how they expect to effectively use digital signage to talk to moms in the children's clothing isle when she is not likely going to be walking through the electronics isle first? How do you let me know about the benefits of a fiber product in the pharmacy area if the tv screens are on the other side of the building. I came for fiber, not a new HDTV! I'm not going over there. I really don't get this viewpoint. In their media program flyer they claim that you can "help your brand come to life within feet of your product". Yeah, if you're selling cameras or Ipods maybe. They claim 70 million target guests can be reached, but I'd like to know how many guest actually walk past those screens.

This is an attempt at something I've been preaching for years. I believe that retailers have an opportunity that most are missing. Instore networks where the store controls the hardware and network and provides the platform for the brands to advertise. Digital signage in-store is perfect for this but so is an interactive network such as a standardized kiosk platform that a brand could pay to use for 2 months. The IBM AnyPlace hardware is an ideal platform for quick setup in the cosmetic's isle or moved next month to the home goods section. A standard platform on any shelving system, would enable the IT department to be able to manage the network efficiently and then they could dictate to the brands and agencies what the specs would be (screen resolution, touch/no touch, sound, day part, etc) Many convenient store, pharmacy and quickserve retail should build their own network and lease it out to the advertisers who so want to be in front of the consumer when they are making that purchasing decision.

Now, let me just clarify: I like Chris and his team. Great people. I like the Target brand and shop there regularly. (Target: don't cancel my shopper card because of this post... please!) And I'm not trying to bring any darts down on them from our community. I'd just like to start a discussion on this topic. Perhaps they have something we can all learn from. Maybe they are totally guessing or are hamstrung by corporate old school staff? But if I don't post my thoughts here, we'll never know. Am I the only one who disagrees with their strategy on digital signage? Comment below and lets start the discussion. Challenge me or challenge Target, but join in the discussion.