Touchscreen Kiosks in 2024: Where Will we see Them?
Interactive touchscreen kiosks have set a new standard for service delivery across various industries. In fact, forecasts indicate that interactive kiosks will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.3% to reach 39.1 billion dollars by 2027. These statistics prove that more enterprises plan to adopt touchscreen kiosks.
Therefore, businesses should understand what touchscreen kiosks are and why they are essential. Additionally, analyzing how companies used them last year will help you leverage the technology for your business.
What Is a Touchscreen Kiosk?
A touchscreen kiosk is a freestanding interactive all-in-one booth with a touchscreen monitor. The touchscreen hardware has responsive software that conveys information from the user and allows the device to process transactions.
Two popular touchscreen technologies are projected capacitive (PCAP) and infrared (IR) touchscreens. These technologies vary in their design, structure, and purpose. Therefore, you can choose either depending on your needs.
Touchscreen kiosks use operating systems available today, such as Windows, iOS, Linux, Chrome OS, or Android. For interactive digital signage content, pair any of these operating systems with suitable digital signage content management software.
Touchscreen kiosks have either LED or LCD screens for high-resolution displays. Touchscreen kiosks’ monitors vary in size from small ones like iPad to 86″ display screens. Furthermore, these digital displays can have touch or multi-touch screen capabilities.
Touchscreen kiosks integrate hardware peripherals such as cameras, barcode scanners, RFID, NFC (Near-Field-Communication), or speakers to enhance the user experience. Moreover, these kiosks have Wi-Fi functionality to facilitate remote management and easy maintenance.
Most touchscreen kiosks are located in public places to serve the needs of walk-in clients. They serve different purposes in various industries.
Benefits of Touchscreen Kiosks
Undoubtedly, touchscreens are yielding tremendous advantages to businesses. Therefore, it’s no surprise that more firms are adapting these technologies. Here are some of the benefits that touchscreen kiosks offer.
- Self-Service
Empowering your customers to help themselves leads to increased customer satisfaction. In fact, 77% of consumers prefer a brand that offers them self-service opportunities. Self-service through interactive kiosks provides quicker resolution to the client’s challenges, which reduces customer frustration.
- Reduced Wait Time
Floor-standing touchscreen kiosks ensure that consumers receive the attention they need once they enter any store. Therefore, clients don’t have to wait for the front-desk employees to return from their lunch break or complete handling another task. As a result, the queues are shorter, and clients have a great experience in your store.
- Marketing Opportunities
Freestanding information kiosks are helpful in trade shows or corporate events to display content about your company and its products.
- Increase Sales
Companies use touchscreen kiosks to display products, promotional information, and limited-time offers. This information persuades clients to purchase specific items leading to impulse purchases. Besides, point-of-sale touchscreen kiosks help upsell and cross-sell products leading to increased sales.
- Increased Customer Satisfaction
Interactive display kiosks enhance customer satisfaction through self-service opportunities, reduce order errors, reduce wait times, and personalized services. Therefore, clients receive efficient service in a store with touchscreen kiosks.
Touchscreen Kiosks in 2023
Touchscreen kiosks emerged across different industries in 2023 as businesses aimed to promote better customer experience in their stores. Some of these industries include the following.
1. Quick Service Restaurants
The quick service restaurant (QSR) industry adopted interactive digital kiosks in their services. The sector used these interactive kiosks for self-ordering, payment, and entertainment purposes. So, consumers could quickly peruse menus and try out new products displayed by the digital kiosks.
2. Retail
The retail sector used interactive kiosks to help shoppers view product descriptions, pricing, and availability. Moreover, for unavailable products, shoppers had the option of ordering online. What’s more, retail stores could easily upsell and cross-sell their products through touchscreen kiosks.
3. Healthcare
The Covid-19 pandemic provoked healthcare facilities to think of other ways of enhancing the patient’s experience while taking health precautions. The interactive digital kiosks were a great answer to the problem.
Therefore, healthcare facilities began using touchscreen kiosks for automatic check-ins and registrations, mechanizing patient queueing, and filling forms online. Additionally, patients could confirm their insurance and process payments online using digital kiosks with card readers.
4. Banking
The banking industry used touchscreen kiosks to dispense tickets to clients and indicate their wait time. In addition, clients could access their accounts, make transfers, and open new bank accounts. This way, the queues in banks have been reduced, facilitating an efficient process for clients.
5. Hospitality
Hotels used interactive digital kiosks for automatic check-in and checkouts. Also, touchscreen kiosks allowed guests to order or swipe their credit cards to settle their bills. Wayfinding digital kiosks also helped hotel guests navigate the building and find their rooms.
6. Entertainment
The entertainment industry has also embraced touchscreen kiosks to enhance the experience of its consumers. For instance, theme parks have information kiosks that help visitors plan their visit to the theme park.
What’s more, freestanding kiosks in concerts and live events provide information on the shows and performers. This way, the attendees have an easier time keeping up with the proceedings of the events.
In movie theaters, interactive digital kiosks provide digital wayfinding by offering directories about the theater. Moreover, movie theaters have ticket dispensing touchscreen kiosks allowing consumers to book tickets in advance.
Touchscreens in 2024
Studies indicate the retail segment will dominate the industry as more stores use touchscreen kiosks. Therefore, you can expect to see more malls, supermarkets, and convenience stores install interactive touchscreen kiosks. Besides, since most retail stores use their touchscreen kiosks indoors, indoor touchscreen kiosks will also dominate the market in 2024.
The industries mentioned above (retail, healthcare, QSR, banking, entertainment, and hospitality) will still experience an increase in digital kiosk technologies. Since businesses in these industries have seen the benefits of touchscreen kiosks, more firms will install them. In addition to these industries, you can expect more interactive digital kiosks in the following sectors.
1. Transport
More stations will have digital kiosks that display travel timetables and dispense travel tickets and information about route plans. Also, fuel stations will install outdoor interactive kiosks that help with self-service and payment. Electronic vehicle charging stations will also have outdoor touchscreen kiosks to enhance customer service.
2. Government
The government will also adopt touchscreen kiosks in more of its offices. For instance, touchscreen kiosks in municipalities will provide directories about the city or information on voting days. These offices will also use interactive kiosks to facilitate digital queueing systems, filling, and printing forms.
3. Education
More learning institutions will use interactive touchscreen kiosks to provide wayfinding directories to students. They contain informative information such as upcoming events, room schedules, or class cancellations. What’s more, students can receive informational content from interactive digital kiosks around their campuses.
4. Tourism
Interactive touchscreen kiosks will increase in 2023 to help the tourism industry recover from the regression caused by the pandemic. Touchscreen kiosks in tourist destinations will create a virtual tour of the city.
This way, tourists will know places to visit in the city, how to get there, and available accommodation spots. Moreover, with the correct digital signage content management software, these digital kiosks can eliminate language barriers.
For instance, Mvix digital signage content management software is available in over 40 languages. Therefore, tourists will have an easier time navigating a foreign city, making their experience enjoyable.
Leverage Digital Touchscreen Kiosks
You can increase your revenue by installing touchscreen kiosks in your store. In fact, around 80% of millennials prefer to shop in stores with self-service kiosks. So, consider installing interactive digital displays to enhance customer service in your store. This way, you are guaranteed increased sales as customers enjoy the experience in your establishment.