Technology

Optimism riding high for self-serve kiosks

Self-service projects put on hold during the pandemic are back on track, and increased demands for self-checkout are expected to continue post pandemic.

Photo by istock.com

February 15, 2022

Economic uncertainties continue to dog U.S. business decision makers, but it's hard to remember a time as exciting as the present for the self-serve kiosk industry.

Projects put on hold in 2020 came back to life in the second half of 2021, and industry executives are in high spirits heading into 2022. A random Kiosk Marketplace survey of kiosk decision makers found unanimous optimism, driven by a rising customer demand for self service.

Teddy Sanchez

"I think 2022 is going to be a good year in self-service and automated retail," Teddy Sanchez, co-founder and CTO at Optimal Station, a manufacturer of all-in-one communication stations which does a lot of business in the food sector as well as event marketing, said in a phone interview. "We've been getting a lot more calls."

His sentiments were representative of nearly all executives interviewed.

Projects back on track

Jeff Blankensop

"A lot of projects are back on the table, even in those areas most affected by the pandemic, and I think it's fair to say corporate spending is up. It has a trickle-down effect on the entire economy," said Jeff Blankensop, senior director of the central region at Peerless-AV, which designs and manufactures outdoor-rated digital menu boards, displays and TVS, as well as dvLED video wall systems and display mounts.

"The QSR restaurant segment continues to push hard with outdoor digital menu boards, self-service kiosks, curbside pickup technology and things like that," Blankensop said.

"We foresee transportation being a big, big space with the Build Back Better initiative by the federal government," he said. "There'll be a lot of dollars going towards transportation infrastructure."

Even hospitality, which was hit the most by the pandemic, is recovering.

The company has enacted some modest price increases in response to rising steel and freight costs. Overall, Blankensop is optimistic about 2022. The biggest concern is rising materials costs.

John Przybylinski

This past February, "Demand just started rapidly increasing," agreed John Przybylinski, general manager, TSItouch Inc., a touchscreen manufacturer that serves interactive kiosks and other industries. "Projects that were on hold because of COVID got put back on the radar. Everything just started moving forward."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention helped the situation by stating that it is very unlikely to get COVID-19 by touching surfaces, he said.

Retail sector rebounds

Much of the optimism was based on the current strength of the retail sector.

Retail sales during 2021's November-December holiday season jumped 14.1% over 2020 to $886.7 billion, surpassing the National Retail Federation's forecast and setting a new record despite challenges from inflation, supply chain disruptions and the ongoing pandemic. The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants, focusing on core retail.

That compared to an average 4.4% holiday sales growth over the previous five years.

Mauricio Chacon

"While we've mostly seen self-ordering available in foodservice, the next year will see this trend expand to other retail environments, such as wholesale environments," said Mauricio Chacon, group product manager, business systems, Epson America Inc.

"Self-ordering provides a more sophisticated and streamlined way for customers to select items – rather than having to write down what they want and wait for the item to be brought out to them after paying, self-ordering kiosks or tabletop systems allow customers to choose their item, pay right away and the item can be processed and ready and waiting for them at pickup," he said.

Restaurants on a roll

Hope Neiman

As for the restaurants not included in the NRF numbers, "Restaurant 2.0 is finally taking off," said Hope Neiman, chief marketing officer, Tillster, a provider of digital ordering and engagement solutions for restaurants. "I don't know how much better it (2022) can be than it's already been."

Restaurants are realizing that all touchpoint platforms, including loyalty programs, need to integrate seamlessly, and the need is keeping Tillster busier than ever, Neiman said.

The growth in 2021 was not in the number of clients as much as existing foodservice clients fine tuning their menus, said Sanchez of Optimal Station.

"They (restaurants) really took this year to button down the model," he said, echoing Tillster's Neiman.

Chuck Lewis

"We're already booking multi-million dollar deals for 2022," beamed Chuck Lewis, vice president at Palmer Digital Group, a kiosk manufacturer which grew close to 50% in 2021. Where QSRs were the big driver in 2021, one 2022 contract is for a retail location, one is for an EV charging station and one is for a Canadian customer that needs to meet strict disability standards.

The company also installed its first cannabis kiosks in 2021.

New customer verticals emerge

Lewis wasn't the only one to notice new customer verticals emerging.

Business began rebounding in the third quarter of 2021 for MicroTouch, a manufacturer of touch solutions, said Tyler Wells, sales manager for channel sales. Cannabis dispensaries and small supermarkets have been especially strong, along with wayfinding, medical and emergency medical services.

"A lot of the fundamental pieces are in place for self-service to grow," Wells said. The only limiting factor being getting product on account of supply chain issues.

Ben Williams

With cinemas opening up for business, TouchMate Inc. USA, a manufacturer of POS technology, has more orders than it can easily handle, said Ben Williams, president and CEO. The company has doubled its business every year for the last four years, and the stimulus funding in 2021 enabled that pace to continue. The company has expanded into kiosks for cannabis dispensaries and gun stores, both of which are expanding rapidly.

"They're learning that's just a great way to improve their service footprint," Williams said for gun shops. By using self-serve kiosks, "They can help a lot more customers in their store at one time."

Everything has gone up in price, Williams said, noting that the cost for the computers the company uses increased nearly 20% while the cost of sheet steel for the company's cabinets has risen 48% since last January.

Like most manufacturers interviewed, Williams is selective in passing on the higher costs to customers.

Qwick Media, a Canada based provider of interactive hardware and software, was struggling after the pandemic caused many of its tourism and shopping mall clients to close shop, said Ross Tocher, company president. Tocher used the pandemic downtime to focus on developing his wayfinding and directory software and be ready when economic activity came back.

It didn't take long. The company has secured a Canadian government contract to install kiosks with interactive content management software in rural post offices, providing residents access to government services, banking services and local community information.

Versatile payment in demand

Doraiswami Shridhar

Cashless has expanded, but orders for bill acceptors and payment devices that accept all types of payment as well as thermal printers continue to be brisk for Pyramid Technologies Inc., according to Doraiswami Shridhar, sales manager, who expects 2022 to be a "great year." Company sales were at least 10% higher in 2021 than 2020.

The demand for payment devices is especially strong in the gaming sector, Shridhar said, but in other retail sectors as well such as drug stores, fuel stations and auto dealerships.

The past year was the best year ever for CRS, a distributor of POS equipment, said James Sanders, vice president of marketing at CRS. Most of the end user locations are hospitality and retail.

"We're going to start moving more in self-service solutions," he said. "We're partnering with software companies to do integrations."

Sanders echoed Pyramid Technologies' Shridhar in observing the demand for cash equipment remains strong, especially for convenience stores.

Bill Stutzman

Projects also began moving forward in the second half of 2021 for Ventus Wireless LLC, a Digi company and a provider of managed wireless services, said Bill Stutzman, who is optimistic about 2022. Much of the company's focus is on kiosks, gaming, BTMs, ATMs and ITMs.

The Omicron variant was causing some concern in the fourth quarter.

"We will just continue to closely communicate with our customers." Stutzman said.

The most encouraging news is that the gains in self-checkout are expected to continue post pandemic.

More than a third of shoppers (34.1%) said they anticipate a major increase in their self-checkout kiosk use in the next year, with 18.7% expecting a minor increase, according to a 2021 shopper survey from Raydiant Inc., a provider of on-location experience solutions.

Photos provided by companies and LinkedIn.