Trying Promotes Buying

The use of interactive displays at retail is growing rapidly as costs come down and capabilities, particularly via wireless access, continue to expand. But as the equipment settles into place, marketers must find the best ways to use it to create effective in-store displays.Interactive P-O-P displays -- defined here as displays which encourage consumers to activate a mechanism to gain more information -- take a wide range of forms, from simple push-button devices to elaborate Internet-based ordering systems housed in kiosks complete with an attached mouse and printer station.These displays are becoming ubiquitous throughout America thanks to lowered costs and consumer comfort, says Lynn Lawrence, president of USNet Inc., which provides on-site assistance for kiosk programs. "They are proliferating everywhere, not just in major markets," says Lawrence, whose Santa Ana, Calif.-based company has established KioskCare, a turnkey service to maintain kiosks. "Everyone today is so attuned to sitting at a workstation and gathering information at work or at home, and they stay in that mindset in the store. As long as the presentation is simple and attractive, I think these formats will keep growing."Indeed, most consumers today are familiar with interactive kiosks via ATMs or informational kiosks in supermarkets, banks, malls and other locations, says Bob Plante, manager of the Virtual Sales Center for BMW North America, Woodcliff, N.J., which has won awards for its interactive kiosks. "Customer acceptance varies, but most everyone's resistance can be won over with a touchscreen format," he says.The high-end kiosk format is being embraced by consumers as well as retailers, according to a recent report by Summit Research Associates Inc., Rockville, Md. "The retail sector continues to be at the forefront with loyalty programs, e-commerce applications, product information, food ordering, product locator and couponing projects, to name just a few," the report says. Display manufacturers agree. Forty-two percent of respondents to a recent survey by Display & Design Ideas Magazine and the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers said, "One of the most significant changes over the next five years will be increased electronic interactivity."Wireless is Hot TrendA key reason for the growth of these systems is their adaptability, made possible through updates transmitted via the Internet through phone lines. The latest innovation has been the expansion of wireless technology, which provides even more versatility. "Wireless connections are definitely the hottest trend right now," says Lawrence. "It makes the kiosks more versatile and able to fit into different environments without being intrusive."Microsoft's Mobile Device Division is using wireless technology in both its products and its displays, says Joel Brazil Sr., marketing manager for the Redmond, Wash.-based company. "Clearly, 802.11b [wireless technology] is the key change for us," he says. "It allows us to do much more from a customer-experience perspective. We see this format being standard in 12 to 24 months time." The company currently is testing a prototype kiosk that allows customers to surf the Web, check e-mail or use MSN messenger in the store. A prototype design is running in CompUSA stores in San Francisco.Touchscreen technologies are also at the forefront of many designs, thanks to their dropping costs and their ability to offer a user-friendly format that minimizes hardware. "We're seeing more touchscreens today because they're easy to operate and they're becoming less expensive," says Lawrence. "That's the direction we expect to see most kiosk programs take." Mouse-operated options open the door for theft, and they require more space, although they also offer more sophisticated control of options when necessary.Low-Tech Interactives But not all interactive displays represent the cutting-edge of technology. Indeed, some marketers consider displays to be interactive if the consumer can touch or hold the product, thereby interacting with it. Push-button displays that activate a device also remain popular for achieving a key result.Marketers at VTech Electronics North America LLC, Glenview, Ill., for instance, are excited by the results they achieve with shelf-edge voiceboxes for their electronic educational toys. The boxes provide a 17- to 25-second audio explanation of the products with the push of a button. One version features five buttons for messages in a compact space. Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart and others are using the displays. "It gives us another way to sell the products without taking up shelf space," says Jordan Dahl, former manager of display and merchandising. "It adds more productivity." The voiceboxes also convey VTech's brand image. "It adds technology to our displays yet keeps them entertaining."English Ideas also uses interactive displays for its cosmetic lines, highlighted by a three-sided endcap unit for Sephora stores. The units include mirrors as well as samples and small applicators and trash baskets so consumers can try products. Each product also includes a pull-down information card that explains a specific cosmetic problem and how English Ideas products can address it. "Sephora uses an open-sell environment, without sales associates behind a counter, so we needed a customer-friendly approach," explains Richard Anderson, director of business develop-ment for the Hollywood, Calif.-based cosmetic company. "Our niche is serving as the 'doctor' to solve any cosmetic problem."Cooper Lighting uses push-button technology to highlight some of its lighting products, especially its Halo brand displayed at retail, electrical distributors and lighting showrooms. "In those settings, lighting has the opportunity to be shown off, and we like to take advantage of the time that contractors and customers spend in those channels," explains Bea Dorsey, marketing manager for the Atlanta-based company. "Interactive displays can help them become more familiar with our products and their benefits." As a result, the entire Halo display line-up is interactive, with sales personnel able to control the illumination effects.But Cooper Lighting has a variety of complications to assess in creating display programs, Dorsey notes. "There's a big difference between how we can use our displays at retail and electrical distribution," she says. Retail displays tend to always be turned on, except for motion-activated, security and HID fixtures. As a result, many of them require delay switches, timers, larger transformers and vents to help improve energy efficiency and lower heat build-up. "Those devices make the displays more expensive, but they're better for our customers overall," she says. Interactive BenefitsThe benefits offered by interactive kiosks are multifaceted -- but there are also drawbacks that must be overcome in creating a program, marketers agree. Here are some of the key pros and cons.Education. One key benefit of kiosks is their ability to quickly educate consumers in an entertaining and informative way. "Customers love our interactive displays," says English Ideas' Anderson. The self-service format takes away some of the pressure that shoppers can feel in a cosmetic department where sales associates may hover trying to help. "The endcap provides the freedom to browse and gives the customer time to research their needs and solutions, and then try some products. It's definitely working for us," he says.Cooper Lighting feels so strongly about this approach that it has created SOURCE, a lighting-education center that it recently moved from Chicago to Atlanta. The center consists of a multitude of rooms -- living rooms, offices, retail store areas -- created for different purposes. Each is arrayed with various lighting fixtures that can be activated to show different lighting effects for that environment."Interaction is so important to us that we bring in thousands of customers to explain the products in action every year," says Dorsey. "Lighting only works well when it's turned on and people can see the difference it makes." This is vital, she notes, because the company isn't selling lighting fixtures. "We sell lighting effects and solutions, and those have to be seen in their environment," she explains. Those visitors include electrical distributors and retailers, who not only learn about the products but see new display options that help convey the message at retail and distribution. "We think the interactive center helps both our sell-in and our sell-through," she says.Simulation. As products become more complicated, fuller demonstrations are necessary to explain their benefits. One of the key functions in BMW's Virtual Sales Center is an iDrive emulator, which allows sales associates to lead shoppers through the car's onboard features using a stickshift-like device. In fact, Plante says, sales associates often tell test drivers that they'll better understand the feature when it's explained on the simulator than in the actual car.Simulation was also the key ingredient for AT&T Wireless in its new kiosk program, which features a full digital messaging system that connects to AT&T's network to explain various phone products, says Michael Lavilla, director of retail development for the Redmond, Wash.-based company. "We took this approach because of the enhanced customer experience it provides," he says. "The interactive format better helps customers understand the products and services by eliminating the need to have salespeople explain the products in a very close environment."Because wireless phones have tiny display faces, it becomes difficult to show the functions to customers using a sample product, Lavilla explains. Some shoppers are uncomfortable having a salesperson so close to them, distracting them from the message. AT&T's kiosk puts the phone's screen onto the monitor, along with an image of the handset, allowing customers to touch the screen as they would the actual handset and see the results. "Salespeople can stand back and explain the system, and customers can do it themselves," he says."One of the fundamental tenets of retail is 'putting the product into people's hands increases the likelihood that they'll buy it,' " Lavilla says. "The touchscreen allows us to put the product into their hands without actually doing it."Sales Support. BMW's Virtual Sales Center offers two seats, allowing sales personnel to work with the customer and lead him through various aspects of the information. The salespeople also have their own hidden menu that can help them pull up key information when they want to make a specific point. "We've given them a tool to help them sell and better explain our technology," says Plante. He visits sales schools not only to explain the center but also to see how salespeople use it.Microsoft's Brazil agrees that his company's displays are designed to be sales tools, not replacements for in-aisle sales help. "Anecdotally, our customers tell us they love our displays," he says. "But research tells us that they still expect a knowledgeable salesperson. The display needs to complement the salesperson, not replace him."Sales Training. Interactive displays don't only educate the customers, they can also ensure sales associates are up to date on the company's products. "Salespeople sell what they know, and we want them to know our product," says Cooper's Dorsey. As a result, the company stresses demonstrations at SOURCE along with interactive displays and product-knowledge seminars at the point-of-sale. "Interactive displays offer training opportunities," she says. That's also the case with BMW's center, says Plante. "Training of field staff is important, and the Virtual Service Center helps us achieve that," he concurs.Differentiation. Interactive displays that supplement sales personnel create a more knowledge-filled environment as well as adding color and activity, according to AT&T's Lavilla. "The telecom sector is very 'me-too' oriented," he says. "We need to differentiate our presentation from our competitors, and that can be tough. We do it with interactive displays which allow us to present complicated products in a comfortable format."The impact of interactive displays, even low-tech ones, can go beyond informational aspects, notes Nat Drucker, manager of Cooper's SOURCE. "There is a placebo effect in some instances, whereby the interactivity creates more of an impact with the customer." The interactive element impresses itself on the customer and heightens the experience. "Even if the effect of the product isn't exactly the same as what would be achieved at home, the ability to show a distinct difference in effect provides an impact that stays with the customer," he explains.Usage Tracking. Computerized kiosks can track the functions customers view most often, giving marketers an idea of how consumers use and relate to the products and how to target their messages. BMW, for instance, knows that safety, customized cars and the iDrive simulator are the most-viewed sections. That helps them determine key areas to focus on and understand why customers buy.Upgrading. With wired or wireless connections, new programs and messages can be sent to stores quickly, ensuring a uniform message across the country at the same time. "We use a 'push' strategy to create new programs, centralizing the content onto our server and then sending it out when it's time," says AT&T's Lavilla. BMW also provides new material on a routine basis. The broadband application allows Plante to react to sales feedback quickly, producing new materials and beaming them to stores. "It's a wonderful thing to be able to respond immediately to ideas that the salesforce wants and be able to send it to stores for use right away," he says.Customization. The ability to connect to each interactive kiosk also allows individual stores to receive different materials. AT&T, for instance, provides regional messages and market promotions by transmitting specific materials to each store. "We can use a buckshot or rifle approach, depending on our needs," Lavilla says.That flexibility extends beyond the content to the kiosk or display itself, notes Dorsey. "We not only need to communicate to different stratifications of customers, including consumers, contractors and architects, but we need to be versatile. I don't know if the display will be used on the floor or ceiling, on pegboard or slatwall, or anywhere else. There are so many options we have to be prepared to handle to meet all of our retailers' and distributors' needs."Interactive DrawbacksThere are also significant disadvantages to interactive displays that must be dealt with before they can provide an effective merchandising approach.Maintenance. Because their mechanical parts are so critical, and the devices can become complicated with options and software, interactive units are a challenge to keep working properly. Summit Research's kiosk study indicated that three out of 10 Internet kiosk projects failed because the machines weren't sufficiently maintained or didn't function properly from the start. "Those with less hardware are easier to maintain," adds USNet's Lawrence. That includes printers which often need ink and paper replaced or paper jams fixed.Because of those problems, BMW produced its service center without printers. "They can be a nightmare to maintain," Plante says. But this fall, it is upgrading its kiosks to allow customers to e-mail information retrieved from the kiosk to a salesperson's computer for printing out or to the customer's home e-mail address. "We don't mind giving them printouts, and this format prevents it from being a logistical barrier," he says. Each kiosk can be monitored and rebooted remotely from headquarters if problems are found, he notes. "Our goal is to ensure we have no blue screens [which mean a crash]," he says. "They give you a terrible black eye."AT&T's Lavilla agrees. "We provide service 24/7/365," he says. The kiosks log onto the server each morning, and diagnostic programs are run to ensure everything works. The company shares accountability with the store manager to monitor usage and maintenance. AT&T has now finished installing 3,000 interactive kiosks and digital signs in 900 stores and is working with a third-party maintenance company, Mercury Online Solutions Inc., Bainbridge Island, Wash., to maintain them, achieving a 99% uptime rate.Even lower-tech programs need maintenance, Anderson points out. He stocks English Ideas' interactive endcaps with three months worth of stock to avoid running out, and he contracted with his P-O-P producer, Preferred Inc., to maintain the displays. That includes ensuring the push-up racks that keep product faced properly are working and that mirrors and other materials aren't broken. "Maintenance and hygiene are critical for cosmetic displays," he says.Content. The bells and whistles draw consumers to interactive units -- but what do they find upon arriving? "What holds a lot of programs back is that interactive kiosks have computers inside, which means the projects end up in the IT or MS departments," says BMW's Plante. "And they're terrible at creating content. There are some awful examples of presentations out there. We were fortunate to have ours run by our marketing department from the beginning. They created some innovative programs."Some programs are too complicated, notes Lawrence. "They have to be streamlined with clear directions so customers can hit two or three buttons and get the information they want. If that happens, resistance to using them has dropped dramatically," she says. "Any time you have to go through eight or 10 steps before you get what you want, it's too much. When you're standing in a public place looking for information, it can't be complicated or time consuming to find it."Updating programs can be a challenge as well, notes Microsoft's Brazil. "It can often be too complex and detailed for an agency to handle, and it's very expensive if we need to hire special firms to do updates," he says. "That said, we think the experience is absolutely critical, so we will continue to invest."Costs. Although prices are coming down, producing an interactive program still requires a large budget. But AT&T's Lavilla points out that marketers have to consider the savings they receive as well. "By representing a phone handset on the screen, I don't need to supply demo units to stores," he explains. "If I can save money on inventorying and carrying costs, that's a plus."Kiosks also can provide supplemental training programs that aid in training salespeople, especially with updated information. "We can introduce new products by adding them into the program, without having to produce new P-O-P materials separately," Lavilla says. In some cases, the new features or enhancements wouldn't warrant new materials on their own, but they can be added into an existing interactive program.And, of course, the kiosks provide a payback by producing a sales lift. "We can't divine how much of the sales lift is attributable strictly to the kiosk versus ad support or pricing programs, but the kiosk program is lifting our sales," Lavilla says. VTech's Dahl notes that the company often sees a sales spike immediately after installing interactive displays for its various electronic educational toys.Sizes. Fitting a kiosk display into a store's shrinking footprint can be difficult, especially as retailers try to produce higher numbers for their gross margin per square foot. "It's important for us to find the appropriate balance between product space and display space," says English Ideas' Anderson.VTech also works to find that balance, adding stock to its countertop displays to increase product space. In place of one display that featured a row of product on each side of the demonstration displays, buyers at Toys "R" Us asked for a double-decker format to double the amount of product. "Retailers want fewer displays and more product," says Dahl. "We are being better received if we present an interactive display that the retailer can stock with products.Fortunately, kiosk components have become so small that they seldom are the driving force behind the display's size, says USNet's Lawrence. "Most programs can fit into a small package, so it depends on the environment and the need," she says. Microsoft's Brazil, in fact, says his displays are getting larger. "Retailers are now moving our displays into their in-line space, and that drives the footprint up by as much as 4 to 6 feet."Retail Acceptance. As such reports indicate, retailers are interested in interactive units because they help sell products effectively. "It seems that the turnover in store design has a greater impact on the longevity of a display in a retail store than changes in the technology of the display," says Lawrence. Virtually all marketers expect to continue to enhance and expand their programs, especially with new technologies. At BMW, for instance, Plante is looking to use voice-recognition systems in the centers and enhance the information that's provided. AT&T similarly is experimenting with audio options to create "a more robust experience," Lavilla says, as well as 3-D imaging presentations. "We've been looking at these for two years. They're cost-prohibitive now, but they won't be for long," he says.Some marketers are also looking at new channels. "We've never done our displays in a department-store environment, but we hope to be able to try it soon," says English Ideas' Anderson. "The traffic there is much higher, which creates challenges for maintenance, but we see potential." BMW is also eyeing ways to use its service centers in standalone situations such as auto shows. "We're looking at ways we can put them into public spaces," Plante says. "We're not sure of the type or how it will work, but it's a possibility."

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