The ultimate relationship.

By Francie Mendelsohn.

Francie Mendelsohn is President of Summit Research Associates the only consulting firm devoted solely to kiosks.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a Web-enabled kiosk in a retail store?

A: A big advantage of having a Web-enabled kiosk in a retail store is that it allows for a common message to be displayed to the customer. As the glue holding "three-tailing" together, the kiosk acts as the common thread between the retailer's bricks and mortar store, Web site, and catalogue. Having a Web-enabled kiosk also keeps information current and consistent from store to store.

An increasing number of retailers use kiosks to display and introduce their Web sites. This will reinforce-and augment-the buying experience. Customers, it is hoped, will then become accustomed to accessing the Web site from home. The retailer will get more bang for the buck; customers will feel equally comfortable accessing the site from home and store. Some of the major retailers who have adopted this philosophy are Staples, REI, and Kmart. All kiosks display the retailer's Web site with a few navigation buttons used in place of the more complex commands.

The primary disadvantage of Web-enabled kiosks is the fact that the complexity of the interface may turn off as many customers as it attracts. This is why only a handful of retailers employ the obviously Web-enabled Staples type of kiosk. Most retail kiosks present a user-friendly front end that never tips off the customer that he or she is actually surfing the Web. Several retailers, including Virgin Entertainment Group, have put this strategy to the test. When customers were asked how they liked their Find and Buy kiosks-a very successful Web-based initiative-the customers replied that they liked them very much. But when asked if they had ever used the Internet, the customers frequently said: "Never!"

Q: What has proven to be the most important detail that retailers should be aware of in developing a kiosk program (i.e. connectivity, vandalism, adoption, etc.)? Why? How should they best handle it?

A: Obtaining the support of store employees is the most important factor in determining whether or not a kiosk program will ultimately be successful. While this is not meant to denigrate the importance of constant connectivity, reliability, and user friendliness, it all boils down to the customer-sales associate relationship. If employees feel the kiosk is a threat and will take their livelihood away, they will vandalize the units and cause the system to fail. The industry has seen many examples of this type of behavior.

One of the earliest kiosks and examples of e-commerce, Florsheim Shoes, did not pay commissions to their salespeople when shoes were purchased from the kiosk. The employee might have waited on the customer for an hour and helped him or her try on dozens of pairs of shoes, but if the desired shoes were not in stock and the customer ultimately obtained them through the kiosk, the hapless employee received nothing. Needless to say, employees quickly determined that if they could not personally deliver the shoes, there was nothing in it for them. They never steered them over to the kiosk to complete the sale. They even went so far as to make sure the kiosk was not working (usually by kicking out the electrical plug). Florsheim executives ultimately changed the commission schedule.

Successful retailers have encouraged their employees to steer customers to the kiosk. They pay them a commission no matter where the sale is closed. Some stores even sponsor contests between employees at neighboring stores to see which location can register the largest number of kiosk users in a given month. Once employees realize that the kiosk will not take their job away but rather will augment their sales activities-when they understand that the kiosk is simply an enabling tool-everybody wins: customer, employee, and retailer.