News

Fixing Frustrating Service with Digital Retail Kiosks

Retail Consumer Information & Wayfinding

In today’s retail environment, digital kiosks sit at the centre of the customer journey. From product discovery and stock checks to payment and loyalty, these devices influence how shoppers navigate the store. Yet despite their growing presence, many kiosks are still designed with limited functionality, failing to address the real frustrations that drive customers away.

Author

Freya Storey

Published

10/04/25

What’s holding back the in-store experience?

Self-service kiosks are quietly resolving the most common in-store pain points, such as long queues, slow service, and staff inconsistency. Helping brands earn trust and build loyalty naturally.

Today’s customers want faster, simpler, and more reliable service. Whether it’s long queues at the till, inconsistent staff experiences, or a lack of stock visibility, traditional customer service often struggles to meet expectations. In a competitive retail environment, these friction points can be enough to lose foot traffic and loyalty.

This is where retail kiosks for customer service come into play.

Fixing the friction points of in-store retail

1. Speed: Reducing queue times without cutting corners

Self-service kiosks reduce bottlenecks by enabling customers to help themselves. From scanning products to checking stock availability and placing orders, they allow quick access to tasks that would otherwise slow the shop floor. Kiosks also serve as digital catalogue extensions, allowing customers to browse the full product range, even when items aren’t on display.

Example: New Look deployed tablet kiosks that let shoppers order out-of-stock items online while still in-store. This seamless service was paired with secure, branded hardware to protect the device and maintain a premium feel.

2. Control: Empowering customers to take the lead

Consumers increasingly prefer self-service when it’s fast, intuitive, and helpful. Interactive kiosks for retail give them more control, allowing shoppers to browse products, customise orders, scan bar codes or QR codes, and join loyalty programmes — all without needing to queue or ask for help.

With the ability to integrate payment terminals, printers, and scanners, retailers can offer complete self-checkout or assisted checkout functionality directly through the kiosk unit.

3. Consistency: Delivering a reliable service every time

While human service can vary, kiosks are always on-brand, always available, and never forget the script. Their interface is designed to reflect the retailer’s visual identity, messaging, and tone — all while guiding the customer smoothly through a task.

By automating routine services and integrating add-on devices like bar code scanners and payment modules, retail kiosk solutions bring order, reliability, and clarity to the customer journey.

4. Loyalty: Turning useful touch-points into repeat visits

When connected to loyalty programmes or CRM systems, kiosks deliver targeted, real-time engagement. Customers can check points, receive relevant offers, and redeem rewards, all during the service interaction. This encourages higher retention and increased spend, while creating a smoother path between the first visit and future purchases.

Why choose imageHOLDERS retail kiosks?

Our retail kiosk range includes customisable tablet stands, point-of-sale systems, and fully integrated interactive kiosks.

Designed for supermarkets, showrooms, and high-street retail alike, they help:

Drive customer footfall
Increase dwell time
Recapture online market share
Offer more flexible payment options
Blend physical and digital experiences in-store

We also support brands with custom enclosures, modular design, and fully branded casing for a seamless in-store look and feel.

Retail kiosks do more than modernise a store

Retail kiosks solve service problems. From long queues to loyalty lapses, they give customers the speed, control, and consistency they expect. If you’re ready to improve service and boost loyalty, our kiosk solutions are here to support you.

Explore our Retail Kiosk Solutions or speak to our team about building a tailored customer journey for your stores.