How Can Touch Screen Technology Enhance A Retail Environment?

It is evident that we are heading to a future where the physical and the digital world start to intersect with each other more and more. With the growth in user centered design and technology, the emphasis on the consumer experience is becoming increasingly apparent. It’s this experience, as well as the brand, that builds loyalty and makes them come back.

This example shows the shop Scribber using touch screen dsplays to engage passers by and encourage them to come in. (London, 2010)

Key example 1
Adidas has brought a new meaning to ‘window shopping’ with their live interactive touch screen windows. These are being currently tested for six weeks in Germany. The user can use a one off pin to link the screen with their Smart phone, allowing them to add items to a virtual ‘shopping bag’, which can be saved for later purchase. (digitalsignagetoday.com, 2012)

The Customer-Centric Store 2010, Retail Systems Research found that the No. 1 opportunity in the current market is to ‘refine the customer's in-store experience’. And the No. 1 use of in-store technology, identified by 76 percent of retailers, was to “maintain and/or improve the customer experience.”

Key example 2
A new Marks and Spencer store has opened this year, in Manchester, which has utilized the latest technology to enhance their in-store branding and marketing. The store has incorporated a large digital signage network of 70 inch screens and twelve interactive retail kiosks. Customers can engage with a simple touch screen kiosk system to browse the M&S catalogue and purchase items that can be delivered to their store or home.  Innovatively, the store has deployed kiosks in different departments. For example a ‘virtual makeover counter’ in the beauty department that consumers can use to test a range of make up types. In the home department there is a ‘duvet and pillow selector’ to guide consumers with their buying decisions. This is a significant example of how touch screen kiosks can create an interactive and contemporary retail environment.

How can Protouch help?
Touch screen technology can enhance the consumer’s retail experience to a whole new level, making it more visual, interactive and convenient. Protouch’s touch screen kiosks enable the consumer to engage with a brand and explore your choices. Take a look at our Matalan case study to see an example of how Protouch kiosks can benefit consumers and businesses in the retail sector.