VDC Research: RFID, Barcode, Retail Automation & Self-Service Market Blog

A Logical RFID Application That Still Carries Some Heavy "Baggage"

Baggage handling is one of those “no-brainer” applications for passive UHF RFID technology. The use
case just makes sense.  Yet, after more than decade, this application market still struggles with historical issues. Although the benefits of the technology are clear, there have only been a small number of deployments worldwide. As adoption is most challenged by cost concerns, implementation challenge considerations and long-standing disagreements over who should pay for the system (airlines or airports).

Airline passengers are some of the most dissatisfied consumers in the world, especially in the United States.  And, the situation is only becoming worse as airlines cut staff, eliminate routes, add fees, and raise ticket prices to compensate for excessive fuel costs and other economic pressures.  The result has been massively lower customer satisfaction ratings. 

One major sore spot for air travellers continues to be lost baggage. And, now the baggage problem
is being compounded as extra fees are being charged for additional checked
bags.  If the airline misplaces or loses a bag that received a surcharge, imagine how upset a passenger would become after paying for checking in that bag. The airline may lose more than the bag – it will likely lose that customer.

• Lost baggage and handling issues are the focus - The impetus for many projects
  is the need reduce the time to transfer luggage. According to sources at the
  Lisbon Airport, the passive UHF RFID-based baggage handling system (BHS) has
  reduced the time to handle a baggage transfer by 66%. Other advantages include
  increased customer satisfaction and reduced labor (time to search for bags).
• McCarran International Airport (Las Vegas, US) expanded its program in 2012 - The
  new Terminal 3 has 130 self-check-in kiosks at which passengers can print their
  own passive UHF RFID-enabled baggage tags. This is innovative as printing has
  primarily been done behind the counter. More airports are expected to come
  online within 2-3 years; however, baggage handling system ownership (airports
  vs. airlines) and tagging costs remain major adoption barriers.
• Other considerations:

            -       More airports are expected to come online within 2-3 years; however, baggage handling                     system ownership (airports vs. airlines) and tagging costs remain major adoption                     barriers.

            -       Travelers are paying more than ever for checked baggage; however, lost baggage rates                     remain high and lead to customer frustration.  RFID technology can solve this industry                     challenge and make customers feel they are charged for a premium service as opposed                     to a bag fee.

            -       Delivered inlays and tags must be Gen2 compliant to ensure interoperability and IATA-                    approved.

            -       Only when more airlines and airports adopt passive UHF solutions will the commercial                     airline industry realize the full benefits of RFID.

While adoption has been limited to date, successful installations have occurred throughout the world. Some of the more prominent deployments include Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, Milan’s Malpensa Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Portugal-Lisbon Airport and Aalborg Airport in Denmark.

While it may take some time, VDC Research does expect more airports and airlines to strongly consider RFID baggage handling systems and begin pilots and deployments. Like with most things RFID, time and actions will tell.  

VDC Research's 13 AutoID Predictions for 2013: Barcode, RFID & RTLS and Mobile Customer Engagement Technologies

Happy New Year! On behalf of the AutoID team and all of VDC Research Group, we wish you all the
best in 2013.

Although 2012 has just concluded, it is never too soon to look ahead. So to start the new year off in an interesting way, the AutoID team has taken out our crystal ball once again to offer 13 predictions for the AutoID market in 2013, including Barcode, RFID & RTLS and Mobile Consumer Engagement Technologies (MCET). They are presented in no particular order.  

1. Barcode: More market aggregation ahead – Expect continued consolidation of the barcode
   hardware landscape, particularly to achieve growth across following dimensions:
   • Regional – Vendors seeking to grow their presence in emerging country markets,
     particularly targeting barcode printer and scanner vendors based out of
     Asia-Pacific.
   • Vertical – Vendors looking to increase their proliferation into high-growth industry
     verticals – particularly healthcare.
2. Barcode: Vendors will learn to “accessorize” – More barcode hardware players will actively
   look to enter the “accessories” market – developing sleds and/or sleeves to support consumer-grade device usage in enterprise environments. This is particularly relevant to vendors addressing customer-facing applications with their devices in retail, healthcare, hospitality and commercial services. 
3. Barcode: Future with mobility, not without in software market – An increasing number
   of barcode software solution providers will extend label printing support to portable devices (both purpose-built and consumer-grade) – facilitating mobile applications such as field sales, field service and direct store delivery (DSD). Today, mobile barcode label generation software penetration is in a very nascent stage, but we expect that to quickly change. Mobility IS the way forward across verticals and industries and the entire barcode value chain must and will respond accordingly.
4. Barcode: Embrace the tech-savvy consumer – Scanning with and displaying barcodes on mobile device screens will continue to grow significantly among consumers. Barcode vendors and their enterprise and retail customers must continuously adapt to this explosive trend. We predict more QSRs (quick service restaurants), convenience stores, restaurants, theme parks/ entertainment venues and other consumer-facing enterprises will invest in and deploy barcode imagers and consumer-grade mobile devices to interact with consumers (e.g., coupon redemption, payment, loyalty/rewards programs).
5. MCET: Mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) will remain the hottest technology among B2C business operators – This trend will be most prominent in retail, but increasingly in dining as well, despite the fact that enterprises often lack clear strategic objectives guiding their investment in the same. In 2013, MCET solution providers must assume leadership roles in educating their customers on technology selection, software and security, best-fit use cases for specific mobile devices/form factors and total cost of ownership (TCO).
6. MCET: NFC as a broader ecosystem will make little progress beyond incremental gains in
   shipments of NFC-enabled smartphones – Yes, this means more NFC-equipped phones in consumer hands, and limited scale pilots and tests will continue, but 2013 is not the year when the technology gains global-level traction. However, expect more TV commercials for mobile phones and mobile network operators (MNOs) to advertise NFC and its applications – and more importantly, look for more commercials to specifically mention the term “NFC” in order to engrain the technology in consumer minds.
7. MCET: Merchants’ general focus on mobility - mPOS in particular - will bring great opportunity for vendors of adjacent peripherals – POS peripheral vendors (e.g., receipt printers, barcode scanners, payment solutions) are expected to drive growth via innovative, highly-portable versions of these traditional POS extensions. These vendors will be jockeying for competitive position more aggressively in 2013, responding to burgeoning demand among retailers, restaurants, hospitality and other enterprises wanting to differentiate and augment their systems by  “going mobile” at the POS.
8. MCET: Contactless mobile payment via NFC will not explode in popularity among consumers during 2013, but consumer usage and merchant support of this application will experience strong growth – Barcodes displayed on mobile device screens and core/traditional RFID (e.g., contactless tickets, smartcards) – not NFC – will continue to enjoy broader global support for mobile payments in the foreseeablefuture. For NFC to gain ground in 2013, more NFC-enabled devices must reach consumer hands, more NFC-compatible payment terminals must be deployed and more collaboration among invested parties must occur within the NFC ecosystem (especially in terms of consumer education, transaction fee negotiations/resolution, and application development).
9. RFID & RTLS: Vendors – especially RTLS solution providers – will develop the “healthcare
   stare” – The use of RFID and RTLS is on the rise in healthcare, most notably in the US thanks to the VA’s announced $540M+ contract to track equipment and supplies at 21 of its Veteran Integrated Service Networks (VISNs).  However, the contract award to HP was not met without controversy in 2012 as IBM filed a protest to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) and won the decision. The contract will be rebid among, at least, the six original bidders.  This spark to the market (and sizeable contract) drew a lot of attention in 2012 and we expect the RFID and RTLS frenzy to continue in healthcare in 2013. However, we caution vendors (especially RTLS providers) to not focus solely on healthcare and to seek opportunities and market development in other vertical markets where the competitive field may be less crowded.
10. RFID & RTLS: Passive UHF EPC item-level tagging (ILT) in the apparel sector will
    pick up the pace after a somewhat slow 2012 – This past year was a mild disappointment in terms of retailer deployment of RFID for ILT of apparel. For example, no major reader or printer/encoder orders were delivered, several large retailers remain behind originally announced plans (e.g., Wal-Mart, JC Penney) and some newer programs were pushed to or will start in 2013.  So what to expect in the year ahead? Even more American Apparel stores will go live with RFID (a bright spot for 2012 as well), Wal-Mart will reassess its RFID plans but remain committed, Macy’s will make its anticipated move, JC Penney has bigger worries than RFID, international retailer Zara will play a key role in increasing tag volumes and RFID EAS will become a more critical part of the ILT in apparel conversation.
11. RFID & RTLS: Embedded RFID keeps the forward momentum – At the end of 2011 we
    noted the rise of “RFID inside,” or embedded RFID, as a key trend to watch for in 2012.  We are keeping it on the list in 2013 after seeing a great deal of progress in 2012. For example, ThingMagic released a new, smaller passive UHF reader module, Xerafy continued product development for embedded RFID specialty tags (e.g., tools), ICs and chipsets from players such as Impinj, NXP, Murata and AMS decreased their footprints, Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers with passive UHF technology inside continued deploment, RFID and NFC made their way into consumer devices such as Keurig Vue coffee brewers and Nintendo Wii (Skylanders game) and much more. With price points declining and form factors shrinking, we expect to see solutions and applications such as these expand and new innovations to be introduced in 2013.
12. RFID & RTLS: Honeywell Scanning & Mobility will get strategic on RFID – and quickly
    – after announcing its first RFID product and the acquisition of Intermec in 2012 – After some exploration of RFID while acquiring several barcode scanner and mobile computing companies over the last few years, Honeywell made some eye-catching RFID moves in 2012. They made a subtle move in introducing an RFID reader and then made a major move in announcing the acquisition of Intermec (a major RFID IP holder and RFID equipment manufacturer). We predict Honeywell will aggressively develop its RFID strategy in 2013, becoming a strong competitor in select verticals and applications that play to the combined strengths of Honeywell and Intermec. What’s next for Honeywell – RTLS in 2013 or 2014?
13. AutoID: Governments in China and the EU continue to connect with the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) – While the US government remains largely silent, China and
    the EU actively fund research IoT projects, create policies to govern the IoT and deploy IoT technologies (including RFID, NFC and sensors). Much of the IoT activity in the US has been at the city level (e.g., smart cities) and we do not expect that to change. In looking ahead and predicting where will be the epicenter of IoT innovation, we are placing our bets on China. Simply look at what is on the list of IoT development subsidy projects from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Ministry of Finance (announced November 2012). UHF and microwave RFID chip design, product technology R&D, miniaturized intelligent sensor technology R&D, ad-hoc networking technology for wireless sensor networks, intelligent logistics and intelligent traffic are among the 14 categories of project, comprising 149 projects in total, which will receive support from the government.

I would like to extend a special thank you to Richa Gupta (VDC’s barcode analyst) and John Shuster (VDC’s MCET analyst) for their contributions to this blog.

NCR Continues to Diversify with Acquisition of Retalix

NCR formally announced this past Wednesday an agreement to acquire Retalix, an Israeli vendor of retail, marketing, supply chain and logistics software solutions. The transaction is valued at $30 per share, or approximately $650 million and is expected to close sometime during Q1 2013. NCR intends to finance the acquisition via a combination of cash and an existing debt facility. Via the acquisition of Retalix, NCR strengthens its competitive position in several respects:

• Expanding its retail automation and customer engagement hardware offerings to include a more diversified range of software solutions, both for customer- and employee-facing applications
• Broadening its services portfolio to include additional professional/integration and managed services options
• Solidifying its status as a go-to vendor for end-to-end solutions that meet the specific, unique requirements of retail end users

We view the Retalix acquisition as a well-advised strategic move that furthers NCR’s diversification into the enterprise software market. While it has historically been known for high-end customer engagement and retail automation hardware (in addition to kiosks, ATMs, etc.), during the past 18 months, NCR has made a concerted effort to broaden its software portfolios—especially those geared towards retail and hospitality end users—via strategic acquisition and organic development.

For example, in August 2011, NCR acquired Radiant Systems, a specialized provider of hospitality POS software and solutions, for approximately $1.2 billion. The addition of Radiant materially strengthened NCR’s competitive position within hospitality, where the company had historically been weak relative to its status as a retail leader. In retail, the company recently launched its NCR Silver product—which enables merchants to integrate POS-enabled iPads, iPhones and iPod touches with stationary POS terminals—to address the rapidly growing demand for consumer-grade mobile device use in the enterprise. While Silver is geared towards SMBs, we expect the Retalix solutions that will soon be part of the NCR portfolio will appeal to a broader range of retailers, including Tier 1 leaders like Home Depot and Walmart, where the company has a well-established installed base.

Furthermore, we believe NCR’s efforts to diversify its software and service capabilities are indicative of a broader interest among end users (merchants and hospitality operators especially) to leverage technology platforms for a set of applications well beyond those with which they are traditionally associated. In the context of POS systems, for example, requirements now often include applications besides typical sales and payment functions. In hospitality, operators also need to accept/administer loyalty programs, manage digital menu boards, accept mobile payments/coupons and potentially support a range of back-of-house functions as well. Retail has similarly diverse requirements—and the acquisition of Retalix will enable NCR to meet these needs more consistently across a broader range of merchants. 

The growing importance of specialized merchant/hospitality solutions is a topic we will explore further our upcoming MCET research—contact us for details.

VDC Heads to the Big Apple for CET World 2012

The VDC AutoID team was in the Big Apple on Wednesday for the 2012 edition of Customer Engagement Technology World (CETW). Despite the recent hardships caused by Hurricane Sandy last week, this year’s show went on as scheduled and drew the usual, diverse crowd of vendors and end-users that attend CETW. Although the show floor was somewhat dominated by vendors of kiosk and digital signage hardware, software and solutions, other areas of the CET spectrum—including POS/mPOS terminals, consumer-facing mobile apps and customer analytics—were also well represented. Our observations at CETW 2012 left us with a several takeaways:

• Self-service solutions are alive and well. As we discussed in a recent post, during the past 12-18 months we have observed a certain level of anti-self-service sentiment among some end-user verticals, including restaurants/dining and retail. While there are definitely examples of enterprises that are moving away from self-service solutions, including self-checkout, kiosks and some forms of interactive displays, these particular instances are not indicative of any mass migration away from these technologies. In fact, these self-service solutions continue to evolve and progress in regards to their functionality and ease-of-deployment. Companies such as NCR are developing more capable and more easily-integrated self-service technologies, such as their NetKey offering.
• Merchant/retailer interest in mobility solutions continues to build. The concept of mobility—whether in the context of m.POS, m.payment or any other enterprise application—continues to build momentum. In regards to m.POS and m.payment especially, it seems these concepts have become so trendy as of late that some end-users are evaluating investment in them simply due to the buzz surrounding them. Several mobility vendors we spoke with at the event noted they are hearing from an increasing number of merchants who want to invest in m.POS/m.payment solutions—but have not defined the objectives for their deployment of the same. While these cases may be more of an indictment of the technology strategy—or lack thereof—at the merchants in question, we also see it as a strong indicator that retailers have generally acknowledged the value mobility provides in many applications.
• Personalized communications/offers that cater to individual preferences are a good start, but there is still a long way to go. For example, to engage a customer and maintain his/her loyalty it is equally important—if not more so—to avoid suggesting things that a customer may dislike or find offensive. Similarly, context and timeliness of communications are also important dimensions to consider—as events such as birthdays, anniversaries, or (to cite a timely example) storms and other natural events may have important implications for what a consumer wants—or does not want—to hear from a merchant. Clearly, tailoring communications to this level of precision is far more complex and challenging than simply making add-on sale suggestions or deal offers based on past purchase history—but with the increasingly advanced capabilities of analytics and other data-management tools, it is not an impossible task. 

For VDC, CETW 2012 was an informative, interesting and timely event, particularly as we prepare to launch its new MCET research program in the upcoming months. Contact us for more information about that research, in which we will discuss the above trends and many others impacting merchants and the technology providers that serve them.

NCR Makes 2D Barcode Secure Enough for ATM Cash Withdrawals

In recent posts, I have discussed some of the headwinds NFC faces in respect to achieving mainstream adoption. One of the most critical challenges facing NFC is that many of the applications it enables are achievable via other, more established technologies such as QR codes and 2D barcodes, usually with less cost and integration complexity to boot. To counter this criticism, NFC proponents are quick to point out that these competing solutions have their own shortcomings, particularly in respect to their lack of security. However, as NCR has demonstrated with the recent introduction of its Mobile Cash Withdrawal (MCW) software for ATMs, inadequate security is not always the Achilles’ heel of these NFC alternatives—it depends on how the technology is integrated as part of the broader solution.

NCR’s MCW software, which is slated for pilot testing later this year and expected to be released in 2013, requires no special hardware and can operate on any manufacturer’s ATM. The solution works as follows: A consumer wanting to withdraw cash initiates a request using NCR’s mobile banking app, which operates on Android and iOS platforms—this step can be done anywhere.  At an ATM within their banking network, the customer uses their mobile device’s camera to capture the 2D barcode displayed on the ATM, which is encoded with the location of that particular ATM. This information is then transmitted to the bank. After verifying the transaction, the ATM dispenses cash.

NCR claims the entire process from scanning the barcode to taking cash from the ATM could be as brief as 10 seconds. Improved security over traditional card-and-PIN withdrawals is an added bonus. Since no card or PIN is required, the MCW solution effectively neutralizes skimming fraud, whereby criminals rig ATMs with unauthorized recording devices in order to steal card/PIN data.

While QR code and 2D barcode will never offer the same level of security inherent to NFC, as NCR has demonstrated with its MCW software, it is possible to implement these less secure solutions in a way that minimizes (or eliminates entirely) their exposure to security threats. If other mobile application developers leveraging QR code and 2D barcode can devise implementation schemes similar to that of the MCW solution, these technologies will present an even stronger challenge to NFC. We expect this increased competition will be particularly noticeable in the realm of secure applications such as payment, ticketing and security/access control, where alternative solutions such as QR and 2D have generally been disregarded due to security concerns.

Get a Little Closer to your Sweetheart with AutoID

Are you a Valentine’s Day procrastinator? You are not alone and it’s not too late.  AutoID is here to save the day.  In the spirit of everyone’s ‘favorite’ Hallmark holiday, we decided to blog about how an AutoID-enabled ecosystem can help ensure a romantic, love-filled day with your significant other.

OK – you’re late to the game because you’re just coming home from a business trip, but no sweat … you’ve got your NFC-enabled smartphone (which you used as your boarding pass).  As you get off the plane and sprint toward the baggage claim, you pass a flower dispensing kiosk that has the perfect bouquet.  You quickly select the bouquet, swipe your phone near the machine, approve the transaction with a tap and voilá, instant flowers for you to hand deliver.

You grab the flowers and make your way to the baggage claim.  Although you take solace in the fact that your bag isn’t lost because the airport is using RFID, you still get there before the bags come out and know you’ll be there for at least a ‘few’ minutes. During these valuable few minutes, you call to make a dinner reservation at her favorite restaurant and are told that the only reservation they have is for 10pm and the table is next to the kitchen.  But you don’t panic, because this restaurant has a loyalty program that ensures a premium table for its members and you are a longtime member.  So you go online, transmit your loyalty card information (as a tech savvy user, you already have this scanned into your smartphone) and reserve a table for two in a dark, romantic corner.   

Surprisingly, your bag comes early – must be that RFID system – and you are quickly on your way home, speeding along the highway using your toll transponder to avoid the long lines – and added stress - at the toll booths.  You finally make it home, with flowers in hand, are greeted by your significant other with open arms, and are summarily rushed out of the house to make your dinner reservation.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, the hostess scans your loyalty card (displayed on your phone) to authenticate your reservation.  You sit down and enjoy a lovely meal.  When the bill comes, you pay with your NFC smartphone – at the table, with a quick and virtual ‘high five’ with the waiter’s device.  As you are walking out of the restaurant, your sweetheart sees a movie poster advertising the latest Rom-Com (romantic comedy) and says they want to go.  You quickly hold your NFC phone to the movie poster, watch the trailer and decide that this is not the movie for you both, but another movie playing at the same theater is.  You buy your tickets online and drive to the cinema.  At the cinema, you display your tickets on your phone, have them scanned (barcode) or read (NFC), make a quick stop to grab some soda and popcorn (again paying with your phone), and watch the movie. 

You’ve had a successful and romantic evening, but wait…we’re not done yet.  Keeping this blog post rated ‘G’, you get home and both of you slip into something more comfortable.  As you cuddle up by the fire with a glass of merlot, you use your NFC phone to pair with your Bluetooth speakers and play some smooth jazz to set the mood.  The rest is up to you – even AutoID has its limits.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

What Themes Dominated the CET Market in 2011

In 2011, there were 3 themes that dominated the customer engagement technology (CET) landscape - Mobility, Convergence and Application Development.

The need to take the store (or the checkout environment, in the least) to the customers at the point-of-decision, as opposed to drawing them to siloed touchpoints, is contributing to this growing demand for a seamless & consistent shopping experience across multiple customer-facing technology solutions.

A whole host of retail organizations have announced consumer handheld deployments within their installation environments in order to elevate customer service levels and drive loyalty over the past 12 months. VDC expects to see continued investment by retailers in these devices in 2012, especially given their relatively low upfront costs, intuitive user interface and high consumer appeal. While the verdict is not out yet on the success of these installations, it has become fairly commonplace to read about chain-wide deployments of Apple products.

Enterprise mobile device vendors have also been investing heavily in partnerships with the Independent Software Vendor (ISV) community to offer customized application sets that enable end-users to seamlessly integrate mobile solutions into their installation environments, ensuring consistency in service delivery and customer experience. As adoption of mobile devices scales, development of applications with varying degrees of configuration and control seems to be a very distinct possibility.

Finding Success in 2012

VDC expects the most successful suppliers in 2012 will be those who enable end-users to extend the value of their initial hardware investments and reduce TCO by supporting multiple applications with a single (mobile) device.

At the NRF later this month, we look forward to seeing CET vendors’ product roadmaps for 2012. We expect they will showcase their ability to effectively engage consumers and elevate service levels by way of immersive and interactive technology solutions – in alignment with today’s consumer handhelds featuring highly responsive, intuitive UIs and visually appealing image quality.

Multi-touch displays for kiosks and digital signage solutions anyone?

Smartphones Meet Smart Posters

Proxama, a global Near Field Communication (NFC) solutions provider, has launched a smart poster marketing campaign in New York and Los Angeles advertising the upcoming new season of VH1’s hit show Basketball Wives. There are several partners working on this campaign, including Hyperspace, a firm specializing in out-of-home communications, Nokia, a leader in NFC-enabled mobile devices and marketing media distribution specialists JCDecaux and Cemusa. Proxama led a similar, well-received campaign earlier this year in London to promote the latest X-Men movie.

The smart posters are straightforward: By tapping an NFC-enabled phone on the poster, passersby  can access an exclusive trailer and link to the show’s Facebook page. Given the low penetration of NFC phones in the US, the campaign is intended to be more of a demonstration of the technology’s potential in the rapidly emerging mobile marketing industry.  

NFC offers opportunities for mobile marketing that reach beyond basic smart poster interactivity. As consumer-level NFC adoption scales in the US, advertising applications leveraging this technology will evolve rapidly. Potential marketing applications include location-based messaging, personalized/targeted offers, mobile couponing and loyalty.  NFC is a versatile technology that will enable direct, immediate access to consumers through which personalized, targeted content can be delivered. Mobile and interactive marketing is just one of the NFC applications we’ll be exploring in our upcoming NFC report—stay tuned for more details.

Special acknowledgement: Dan Mandell, Research Associate, co-authored this blog post.

Application-specific Deployments Driving Kiosks Market Growth

Suppliers experienced strong growth in kiosk installations across a variety of vertical market segments as end-user enterprises embraced a number of applications targeted at enhancing customer engagement and loyalty. Vendors are expected to derive maximum revenues from product vending kiosks & pedestal kiosk installations in big box retail chains (including department stores and mass merchandisers) and supermarkets/grocery stores.

Kiosk sales into the Government and Healthcare vertical markets tend to be highly application-specific, necessitating partnerships with the ISV community, whose domain expertise and systems integration capabilities enable vendors to adequately address the highly targeted solution specifications posed by end-user organizations.

Deployments are also seen gaining traction within the transportation vertical as airports, bus and rail stations increasingly rely on kiosks to ease congestion, lower employee headcount and reduce costs for rendering basic services. Globally, this segment is expected to register a CAGR over 9%, with suppliers generating over $100 million in kiosk sales to the transportation vertical by 2015.

VDC expects to see those vendors devoting resources toward building systems integration capabilities (in-house or via strategic partnerships) to create a compelling competitive advantage as they address & assuage enterprise end-users’ concerns regarding ROI, compatibility with existing in-store infrastructure, and overall installation/deployment costs.

To learn more about our coverage of the Self-Service Kiosks market, click here.

Kiosks – Ringing in a New Age

Interactive Displays & Digital Signs and consumers’ personal handheld devices (including smartphones and tablets) have been steadily converging with kiosks and increasingly changing the market’s landscape.  These devices have caused kiosk vendors to rethink and re-engineer their traditional applications such as product/service information lookup and wayfinding, particularly for consumer-facing organizations. While these applications continue to be popular, organizations are constantly looking for solutions that effectively align with and engage their increasingly technology-savvy consumer base, enhance their in-store experience and improved customer loyalty. Kiosk suppliers are responding to this increased convergence by:

- Enhancing the software solutions set for self-service kiosks – Kiosk suppliers are leveraging relationships with ISVs and SIs to capitalize on the boon of application development in the mobile device and digital signage markets as a means to extend their own platforms. Popular applications include:

    o Smartphone applications (e.g.: RedBox mobile)

    o Online portals (e.g.:  JC Penney’s “Endless Aisle”, Toys ‘r’ Us “Wish List”, Coinstar “Face Cube”)

- Leveraging the same user experiences as some of these next-generation devices - User experience is not just about flashy imagery and music anymore … it’s more interactive.  Retailers are increasingly demanding multi-touch capabilities, particularly for kiosks and digital signage solutions, leveraging the same type of interface many consumers already use. The enhanced capabilities are enabling retailers to further interact with their customers as well as create new sales and marketing opportunities. Examples include Beyond Kiosks & iBracket (build kiosk enclosures for iPads) and IN Media (recently launched IPTV technology based HD kiosk running on an Android platform).

How is the growing surge in tablet sales expected to impact the market for traditional kiosks? Are dynamic software solutions that enable seamless in-store and cross-channel technology integration a must-have for end-users today?  We expect to answer these questions and learn more trends in our coverage of the Kiosk market as a part of the 2011 Customer Engagement Technologies Market Intelligence Service (CET). Stay tuned.