Types of Kiosks: What’s best for your business?

Self-service business kiosks have become increasingly popular in recent years, and businesses have started to recognize their benefits. These types of kiosks are now used in a variety of industries, including healthcare, retail, and hospitality. They offer an efficient and cost-effective way to provide information, sell products, and provide services to customers. Kiosks also offer a range of marketing and advertising opportunities and can be used to promote products and services to a targeted audience. There are many types of kiosks for various applications. Read on to see what type of self-service kiosk would be best for your business.

Check-In kiosks are most commonly used in healthcare and hospitality markets, but this versatile application also has uses in corporate and retail applications. Generally, kiosks for check-in are freestanding kiosk terminals that guests, patients, or customers arrive at immediately upon entry, placed just in front of a reception desk. Benefits of check-in kiosks for any market include a faster and more streamlined check-in process, reducing data entry errors by eliminating manual forms, and ID verification capabilities.

Patient Check-In Kiosks
Many clinics, healthcare systems, and hospitals are implementing check-in kiosks to improve patient experience, save time and money, and promote employee health. Patient check-in kiosks can reduce human error in data entry by eliminating the need for administration staff to transcribe handwritten forms, which in turn leads to improved patient care.

Patients visiting healthcare clinics may be ill or immunocompromised, and having an option for contactless check-in lessens the chance of viral transmission from patients to administration staff and vice-versa. These types of service kiosks can work well in situations where businesses have specific requirements in terms of patient and staff safety, making registration easier and creating a safer environment in the office.

Hospitality Check-In Kiosks
Hospitality venues like hotels and cruise ships are another common place to find check-in kiosks. Hotel check-in kiosks have many of the same benefits as healthcare check-in kiosks – reducing wait times and offering a contactless option for those who prefer it – but have added functionality of dispensing room keys and offering digital concierge services. Hotel self check-in kiosks help elevate the guest experience by giving guests the option to skip the line for the front desk and get on with their trip.

Visitor Management Kiosks
In corporate spaces, visitor management check-in kiosks can help keep track of visitors to a corporate campus. These kiosks are often lightweight, so they can serve as a mobile kiosks, being moved to the area where they are most needed at a given time.

For retail, check-in kiosks are useful in situations where a salesperson is needed to complete a purchase, such as car dealerships, electronics stores, or luxury retail. The check-in kiosk creates a queue, so salespeople can help customers in the order in which they arrived while customers browse the shop.  At the same time, the kiosks can free up salespeople’s time to provide assistance and offer a better service to customers.

For companies that want to expedite the check-in process at their business, kiosks for check-in are an invaluable addition to the reception area.

These public information kiosks are placed in high-traffic indoor or outdoor areas to help people navigate new or potentially confusing locations. Malls, hospitals, stadiums, or large outdoor shopping centers are ideal for wayfinding kiosk placements.

Wayfinding kiosks are more dynamic and interactive than traditional wayfinding signage. Not only do they orient users to their current location, but they can show the path to take to the next destination, and even text directions to a user’s smart phone.

Since wayfinding kiosks are often placed in retail spaces with a lot of foot traffic, they can double as digital signage advertising kiosks. When not in active use, these kiosks can display ads for sales and promotions at nearby stores.

Outdoor kiosks have a robust design that’s made to withstand the elements. These kiosks can be used for any application, but because of their placement in high-traffic spaces, they can be great for kiosk marketing efforts.

Cities often use outdoor information kiosks to communicate public transportation schedules, offer maps and directions, and sometimes to even provide public wi-fi or device charging stations. Like wayfinding, kiosks, these screens can display ads when not in use. These ads can help pay for the kiosks and their maintenance and enable companies to utilize them more extensively.

When consumers think of a business kiosk, self-checkout is likely the first that comes to mind. These kiosks are popular in retail applications like grocery stores and big box stores and are becoming more and more common in clothing retailers and convenience stores. Customers appreciate the convenience and speed of self-checkout and expect this technology to be available wherever they shop. A recent study suggests that 73% of shoppers and 85% of Gen Z consumers prefer self-checkout over staffed checkout lanes.

Kiosks offer a range of benefits to businesses, including cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved customer engagement. By choosing the right type of kiosk for their needs, businesses can take advantage of these benefits and improve their bottom line. Whatever your industry or application, our team of experts can help get your kiosk ideas off the ground. Contact us to get started.