A Guide to Understand Self Service Kiosk
About Self Service Kiosk and its role in Digital Transformation
Today’s self-service kiosks is an ultimate fusion of classic vending machine and high-tech communications, complex peripherals. Such interactive kiosks can include self-checkout lanes, e-ticketing, information-way finding, bill payment and vending. Interactive kiosks have become a larger part of the retail landscape as users embrace technology in their daily lives. From a kiosk with an advance and complex peripheral to a kiosk just providing basic information, self-service kiosks have grown up to a significant level.
The first ever self-service kiosk debuted in year 1977, it was more like an information kiosk providing users with basic information about their catchment area. And now these self-service kiosks have capabilities to deliver most complicated tasks for the end customers with ease and efficiency. Talking about the growth figures the global interactive and self-service kiosk market will reach an estimated $30.8 billion by 2024 (as per a new research by Tillster Market Research Report).
Before going any further let’s just dig in about basics of an interactive kiosk or a self service kiosk.

What Is A Self Service Kiosk?
Self service kiosk are an interactive computer terminal featuring specialized hardware and dedicated software that provides access to information and applications for communication, commerce, entertainment or education.
Integration of technology allows kiosks to perform a wide range of functions in different and new sectors. For instance, kiosks are now used for paying bills, traffic fines kiosk are also used to perform number of financial transactions in exchange for merchandise (product vending kiosk & sim card dispensing kiosk).
Customized components such as coin hoppers, document printers and scanner, thermal printers enable kiosks to meet the expectations of the brands installing it. These interactive kiosks can be customized according to specific requirement of establishments.
Design And Usability Of A Self Service Kiosk
Today as customer’s are becoming more tech savvy, they look forward to quick service and transactions along with a simple user interface. Which ultimately saves their time and efforts and eventually these are some of the functions that are driving the adoption of self-service kiosk. There are many other forces to look for while designing or considering a self-service kiosk which is-
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- Aesthetic Design: Design plays an important role in great customer experience and is often an important driving force in user adoption and brand recognition.
- Manufacturing Volume:Manufacturing designs determines the processes and basic material used in for manufacturing of kiosks.
- Kiosk Software:The interactive function or user interface of kiosk hardware is largely determined by software program and kiosk software configuration.
- Interface Design:Interface designing for self-service kiosks requires easy to use and simple interface with simpler decision trees.
- Durability:whether the kiosk will be an indoor one will be placed in open, the intended location of the kiosk will largely influence the construction and base material used during its manufacturing.

Types Of Self Service Kiosks
Information Kiosk
Information kiosk engage customers as a method for conveying information about a particular exhibit or site. It helps the user to read about or view any video with respect to that particular exhibit in an interactive manner and makes the learning more interesting. These interactive information kiosks can be placed at any kind of setup large or small, it doesn’t require any complex peripheral other than just a touch screen.
Bill Payment Kiosk
Bill Payment terminals are the typical utility payment kiosks, which helps the end users to pay their bills conveniently without to get in line.
Video kiosk often integrates video conferencing and help users to do a quick video call with available operators.
Self Service Kiosk In Hotels
Check-in kiosks are extensively used in hotels and hospitality industry where in customer can check-in to their respective suites, rooms on their own by completing the customer on-boarding and registration over the self service kiosk. This acts as a new service channel for the brands. These check-in kiosks are modern, sleek and easily allow guests to locate their reservation, put a credit card on file and obtain a room key that is encoded and dispensed right from the kiosk.
Self Service Kiosk In Airport
Airport check-in kiosks are very sophisticated kiosks equipped with numerous peripherals such as card readers, barcode scanners, passport readers etc. They are built to be very robust due to the high level of traffic that this self-service kiosk needs to cater to at the airport.
Wayfinding Kiosk In Malls And Airports
Wayfinding kiosk are extensively used in shopping malls, airports or in bigger setups like institutes etc. Wayfinding kiosk acts as digital building directory that help users to navigate their destination and encourage them to explore their surrounding area with interactive information. Wayfinding kiosk provide a revenue generating advertising platform by offering valuable digital advertising space.
Visitor Management Kiosk
Visitor management kiosk provides end-to-end automation of the visitor registration process including sign-in, on boarding and sign-out of the visitors. It’s an easy, secure and modern visitor management kiosk solution.
HR Kiosks
HR kiosks provides cost-effective solution for hiring new staff, provides with benefits administration and eases employee communications with self-service kiosk technology. HR kiosk offer employees option to view-pay slips, leave records and overtime dues.
A new way to order in QSRs is via self-ordering kiosks, the kiosk provides convenience to the end customers by giving them an option of self-ordering and checkout that to without getting in the queue. These interactive kiosks have become very much popular in big QSR chains like McDonalds, Burger King, KFC where in customers walks to the kiosk which already has the digital menu and other a-la-carte offers displayed and customer just needs to order through it. There by saving a great amount of time and adding extra convenience. Reportedly the number of installations for self-service kiosk is on an upward trajectory, big brands in QSR are installing kiosks extensively and they are investing rapidly on the use and deployment of these technology.
Ticketing kiosks are extensively used in transportation, amusement parks and in movie theatres. Ticketing kiosk provides end customer with convenience of printing their tickets. Ticketing kiosk are sleek and interactive kiosk which fits in easily in any of the setup whether they are placed outside in the open or within the premises, they help in enhancing customer experience.
Interactive kiosks have already created a lot of stir in the banking and insurance sector. Banking kiosk has the ability for customers to perform transactions that may normally require a bank teller. These self-service kiosks helps in performing tasks like account opening, cash or cheque depositing, passbook updating, personalized debit/credit card printing, statement printing etc. All the major banks in the world today are investing upon the technology and omni channel. Phy-gital is the new term which seems to be popping up as a major head for the banks and other financial institutions today. These self-service kiosk for banking is one of the key component which is driving the wave of the Omni Channel in this particular industry. Banks have installed these kiosk at major points where most of the traffic is generated such as at cheque deposits – Cheque Deposit Kiosk, Cash deposits – Cash Deposit Kiosk, other miscellaneous activities – Multi Function Kiosk, passbook update – Passbook Printing Kiosk, account opening – Account Opening Kiosk, request for new Debit/Credit card – Card Printing Kiosk, request for cheque book – Cheque book Printing kiosk.
Benefits Of Self Service Kiosk For Customers & Businesses
With the introduction of ATMs the need for a customer to stand in the line for hours to withdraw cash from their account was eliminated along with the dependency on the cashier, which not only gave customers advantage of transacting as per their needs and requirement but also helped banks to shorten their queues and increase it’s physical presence. For any business or industry today the main focus is on providing exceptional customer experience on all the possible channels where customer interacts. Therefore, the new channels of interactions should provide customers an ease of carrying out their activities swiftly and have proved itself to be able to make life of both business and customers easier.
Following are some of the benefits of self service kiosk for customers and the businesses

Reduced wait time

Improved customer engagement with innovative technology

Increase in operational efficiency

Gain efficiency through diverse application
Investing On Self Service Kiosk… Yaay Or Naay?
Well investment in any new technology or new potential big thing needs a lot of number crunching and good research and need gap analysis. Financial viability needs to be determined before taking a decision on investing in this because creating a setup, or IT environment/infrastructure for the kiosk and later on its annual maintenance everything has a cost tagged to it. Therefore, depending on the establishments requirement and purpose the overall investment vary.
So, whenever you plan to put up a self-service terminal for your business, you need to have a clear idea about the overall installation, the main activities which you plan to divert on the kiosk, the kind of kiosk like whether it will be wall mounted kiosk, floor standing kiosk, tablet based kiosk or you want to go for bespoke design altogether plays a vital role.
The kind of peripherals i.e, Hardware requirement is directly proportional to the kind of service you want to automate and therefore the software is dependent on it. Depending upon the complexity of the task or process the overall usage, design of the kiosk will be determined. Which directly influences the overall cost.
The next important thing to be considered while making an investment in these kiosk is maintenance cost. Maintenance cost needs to be computed while designing the budget for the kiosk, buying out from some relatively low priced suppliers can come back to you in the form of overall quality of the kiosk and working of it. You may face frequent system crashes or downtime of the system or peripheral failure and if your kiosk is to be used by general public in a high traffic setting environment then industrial level robustness is required out of it and therefore its quality and material needs to be of industry grade standard and duly certified.
Quick Demo Of The Self Service Kiosk!!
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