In recent years, our shopping habits have changed profoundly. Leaving aside the universe of e-commerce and the online shop, our way of experiencing shopping within the points of sale has also evolved. Technological innovation has in several cases replaced physical stores with retail kiosks. These are essentially computers available for public use: retail kiosks help stimulate greater consumer engagement
while reducing labor costs.

Unlike a normal computer, however, an interactive kiosk (both indoor and outdoor) is able to withstand shocks and adverse weather conditions, withstand sudden changes in temperature and extreme temperatures, undergo vandalism or prolonged use without deteriorating.

Interactive kiosks and Indoor Totems: what they are

The interactive kiosk looks like a variable-sized column equipped with a panel and / or keys through which to retrieve information or perform certain activities. They work to provide the user with useful services such as document printing, information sharing, self-ordering and wayfinding services.

Looking for an Outdoor Totem? Discover the differences with the Indoor Totems and shop window monitor.

Why choose a retail kiosk? The advantages

The retail market is the sector that has contributed most to the sale of interactive self-service kiosks. Modern shoppers prefer quick, anonymous interactions when it comes to shopping for groceries or withdrawing money from a bank. But here are all the advantages that come from choosing a retail kiosk in detail.

• Kiosks allow consumers to serve themselves 24 hours a day and thus save onstaff.
• Some interactive kiosk models support peripheral devices such as printers, QR
• code and / or document scanners, payment devices, etc.
• They improve the customer experience, are interactive and easy to use.
• They speed up the sales process and help avoid queues.
• They are able to break down some of the traditionally recognized barriers in home and office PCs, such as cultural and language barriers. The computer culture is excluded by very friendly interface mechanisms such as the touch screen while language barriers are circumvented with multilingual applications and guided audio-video integrations that reach voice commands in very advanced models.

The areas of application of a retail kiosk

Installed in areas with a high flow of pedestrian traffic such as stadiums and shopping centers, retail kiosks help consumers find useful information or make purchases. Retail kiosks can be located in physical stores offering the possibility for users to order items not available in the inventory or request the assistance of a salesman, but not only.
They are also found inside restaurant and fast-food chains, outside credit institutions or in shopping centers, inside pharmacies or petrol stations, near railway stations and airports, museums and trade fairs.

The applications are very diverse, because the interactive kiosk is a versatile device capable of carrying out, depending on the type of product, actions such as:

• Determine the queue number or type of service required;
• Provide information;
• Print documents, tickets;
• Scan QR codes and cards;
• Collect data and record inputs;
• Take reservations;
• Receive technical, information or logistical support.

These are just some of the examples of using an interactive kiosk, but this kind of devices can be used in numerous scenarios where immediate access to information is useful without having to resort to the physical intervention of an employee or an attendant.

Retail Kiosk Software: Required Features

An interactive kiosk is not just a physical object, but a device that must contain rather advanced software. What are the fundamental characteristics that an interactive kiosk software must necessarily possess?

First, it must be secure software that can publish content, block unauthorized access and protect the kiosk from misuse. It must be possible to select the features that employees or users can access, so that only administrators or selected figures can install or uninstall apps and take actions that could compromise the system.

The software for retail kiosks must also allow the remote management of devices, in order to keep the level of performance and performance of the kiosk under control, the transmission and collection of data, the optimization of functionality. It can configure software for bulk deployment, updates, the need to temporarily block one or more functions and permissions.

Professional retail kiosk software should also: Monitor data storage and usage. Report unauthorized access to the physical drive and any compliance violations. Monitor system status and notify administrator in case of crash and automatically restore by restarting the application. Automatically log in to a limited access user account upon reboot. Allow remote diagnostic logging for troubleshooting.

It should allow admin to block pop-ups, notification bars, status messages to give the user a seamless and flawless shopping experience.

Fida Srl Interactive kiosk: our products

We have been producing interactive kiosks for 25 years and we are leaders in Made in Italy for the Digital Signage sector. Our interactive kiosk models offer high performance and an elegant and highly customizable design.

Interactive and payment kiosk: TKC Tactive

SelfKiosk Tactive TKC is a kiosk designed for interactive and payment applications in the public administration, healthcare, retail, hospitality, corporate and educational sectors. It has a highly reliable and robust electronic payment terminal and is complete with: industrial thermal printer for ticket dispensing, high-efficiency printer for the production of A4 paper documents, barcode reader and QRCODE for reading of health cards or cards for personal identification.

TSO Kiosk for ordering and self-ordering

TSO Tactive is a self-ordering kiosk perfect for restaurants, fast-food restaurants and bistros who want to speed up order taking and maximize sales. Fast food chains such as Mc Donald’s or Burger King have long adopted this solution for more efficient, faster and safer order management. But order totems are increasingly popular even in smaller restaurants, to improve customer experience and reduce waiting times.

Equipped with a 27 ″ vertical monitor, a latest generation 10t capacitive touch screen, a POS payment system and an 80mm thermal printer, the TSO is extremely versatile and resistant. The sophisticated design allows the integration of a wide range of options, while the aluminum structure is suitable for both wall mounting and free-standing mounting. The kiosk can be customized in all RAL colors and logo placement in line with the brand.

Multifunctional interactive kiosk: TKI Information kiosk

Tactive TKI indoor is a multifunctional interactive kiosk with 10-touch touch-screen, a perfect combination of technology, compactness and linearity. Particularly suitable for multimedia applications where it is necessary to give value to communication, be it commercial, informative or interactive.

It is particularly suitable for replacing traditional static lecterns and giving communication greater vitality and impulse, as it is capable of easily accessing the consultation of digital brochures, viewing video catalogs and interactive multimedia content. But also a very functional kiosk as a terminal in queuing systems.

Wayfinding Kiosk: Tactive TWI

Tactive TWI is a versatile kiosk designed for interactive applications such as wayfinding, 3D map viewing and video catalogs.

It is a special type of interactive kiosk designed to help users find their way around, understand where they are and provide specific information on the mapping of one or more rooms, 3d rendering, multimedia information materials. For this reason they are perfect for large shopping centers, museums, showrooms and fairs.

Do you want to install one of our kiosks inside your premises? Contact us for a quote.