The doctrine of kiosks: How kiosks evolved over time?

The advancing technology has given birth to many new ideas and innovations. The utility of these technologies has made human life incomplete without these innovations. Over time, these technologies have been developed and modified according to our needs. One such technology which like many other technologies, was introduced to improve time & cost efficiency was that of the kiosks.

Customer behavior is evolving and so are their expectations. They expect to possess the ability to avail services or purchase goods at their own whims. This has made self-service technology widely accepted almost everywhere, from travel to retail to hospitality to medicine. But where did it all start?

The 1880s, A new business approach: The first self-service kiosk was a coin-operated vending machine that came to life in the 1880s. The first commercial vending machine was introduced in London in 1883 which sold postcards. The later installment of the Vending machine in 1888, New York sold chewing gum to the customers.

Image courtesy: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

The 1880s also gave the customers the ability to choose from a catalog. This empowered the consumers to purchase on their own time and shop at their own leisure without any human interaction.

1890–1947, The developmental phase: Over the next half century, the vending machine continued to evolve, both from a design perspective and product offering. By 1945, the vending machines came in all shapes and sizes which sold everything from food and beverages to household items.

Source: www.qikserve.com

In 1905, the first gas pump station came to existence. By 1947, the self-service kiosk became widely accepted as customers demand control over pumping their own gas. This allowed them to determine the quantity of gas and the amount of money spent at pumping stations.

Source: Pinterest

1969, the year of ATMs: The first ATM was opened for business on September 2, 1969. Since then, the ATMs have changed according to customer needs becoming more efficient for use along with safer to keep in public places without any human intervention and monitoring. The ATMs were among the first interactive kiosks and then later became the first digital kiosks.

Source: Advancedkiosks

1977, the first interactive kiosks: Murray Lappe, developed the first interactive kiosk in 1977. The 1980s saw the expansion of the interactive voice response unit (IVR) as consumers demanded innovative self-service technology. The IVR provided consumers with a more convenient solution and allowed companies to provide customer service at a low cost.

The arrival of self-service kiosks became a huge catalyst in changing customer behavior and encouraged businesses to develop more customer-oriented services. This made customers take charge of their choices and control their expenditure.

1992, Advent of supermarket self-checkout kiosks: Dr. Howard Schneider developed the first retail self-checkout system in the early 1990s. These self-service digital kiosks allowed customers to quickly purchase their groceries, without making them stand in line. These Self-Service bill-payment Kiosks are expected to hit a market share of $4billion, with 468,000 units installed globally by 2024.

Source: ixtenso.com

The 2000s, The global kiosk revolution: By 2000, organizations and businesses across the globe witnessed the advantages of self-service technology and 15% of organizations, including Pfizer, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard, implemented a self-service solution. The self-service kiosks began to crop up in airports in the U.S in 2000 and reduced congestion and staff costs. The diverse needs of the customers lead self-service kiosks to explore many new horizons from hospitality to medicine to what not?

conclusion

The self-service technology has come a long way from retail to wayfinding to hospitality, engaging users and providing enhanced experience with digital information. Self-service is a forever expanding idea capable of creating solutions that save time, cost, and energy for the consumers, employees, and employers.

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