Pro-Touch

Matalan’s New Store opts for Multi-channel Xen X4 Kiosk

Matalan, the leading clothing and home ware retailer, has picked our self-service Xen X4 EPoS kiosks to use in its' new pilot multi-channel retailing in-store.  

The pilot is being deployed in Matalan’s new High Wycombe store and will provide an additional means for customers to purchase products and services across the entire Matalan range.   

They were looking to provide in-store access to their entire product range including the extended lines that can only be found online.  

By incorporating our transactional kiosks they are able to display products that cannot currently be found in-store. In turn the kiosks also accommodate customers without internet access and enhance the shopping experience of customers who come to the store.   

As a result, it will allow Matalan to drive incremental revenues in-store by increasing average basket size and cross/up selling.  

Ross Williams, Ecommerce Trading Manager, said: “We are always looking to improve our customer’s shopping experience, by giving in store shoppers the option to buy from our online range, they benefit by getting new products sooner, and also by being able to select from our full range.

“We recognise a shift in our customers shopping behaviour, and are looking to use technology to service customer requirements however they wish to engage with us.”   

We are providing the total solution; hardware, software and a managed service with support and maintenance.

The Xen X4 kiosks feature a keyboard and 80mm receipt printers running a secure browser version of their website. Customers simply browse the website as they would at home then add their desired items to basket and proceed to check out where they can pay and arrange in-store collection or delivery.  

The kiosks were launched at the store opening yesterday, on November 18th.

Protouch are the UK’s leading supplier of touch screen and kiosk systems and winner of Retail Systems Awards in 2008, 2009, 2010.

Common factors and considerations of a Touch Screen Kiosk

Interactive technology is fast becoming an essential commodity and popular trend in all industry sectors due to the need to provide easily accessible information and services in a compact form.

Touch screen technology has been embraced by business owners and government officials and used for automated back office and staff facing systems. 

Now that self-service is also so integral within business, touch screens have evolved and more and more sectors, from retail to transport, are seeing the value of providing the customers with self service touch screen kiosks.

You can install virtually any application into an industry and there are many factors and considerations to cover. You need to bear in mind who will be using it and what height it should be i.e. can it be accessed by a wheelchair user?  What is its purpose; are you displaying information for advertising and marketing or is it simply for human resources? 

But, out of all the factors and considerations there are a few that all units share… 

  • Screen size – 15-19” for privacy – no one wants their information presented to passers-by.
  • Attractor screen – to attract the user and promote the service clearly and concisely.
  • Journey – the process the user has to go through to complete their desired outcome should be seamless and intuitive.
  • On screen design – simple design with buttons large enough to touch
  • Branding / messaging – outside messaging make the customer aware of the kiosk.  

The common Considerations:

  • DDA compliance – height of screen and accessories, on screen colour options, location – the idea is that all users can use the kiosk
  • Additional panels for screen and sound privacy – depending on the function of the kiosk the user may require a high or low level of privacy.
  • Accessories – what items will aid the user? Keyboard? Phone? Microphone?
  • Touch screen technology – depending on where and how the touch screen will be used, it will require a different type of screen technology such as Surface Acoustic Wave, which provides great screen clarity or Resistive which can be operated by a number of touch methods such as a finger or stylus.

For more information on kiosks.

Ship Operator Carnival deploys Protouch kiosks

Carnival UK, the Britain's largest cruise ship operator, is piloting our kiosks at sea.

Until now Carnival has found it difficult to remove inefficient cash on board processes.  As one of the largest vacation companies in the world with a fleet of 11 UK Ships, and 96 ships globally, the mixture of cash and other processes is unnecessarily taking its toll on man hours.

With the new automatic system, crew members will be able to use the kiosks to top up their accounts without the need for staff assistance. They simply insert their Personalised Crew cards to check their card balance, top up their account, check currency crew exchange rates and also view personal details.

Julian Banasiewicz, IT Projects Manager at Carnival UK, said: “The business response towards the kiosks has been very positive with the kiosks taking £40,000 in the first 3 weeks at sea. We are very pleased to continue our relationship with Protouch across our iconic Cunard and P&O Cruise Ships for further rollouts, and hope to extend the functionality of these kiosks in the future.”

We are providing the total solution; hardware, software and a managed service with support and maintenance.

Carnival UK elected for the Xen X4 kiosks featuring note acceptors, 80mm receipt printers and magnetic stripe card readers.

The kiosks were launched on new ship Queen Elizabeth for its maiden voyage on October 12th. A successful trial will see Carnival UK rollout out the kiosks across its high profile P&O Cruises and Cunard, brands.  Future initiatives include a review of Passenger facing functions to extend the use of our kiosk technology to automate passenger processes on board.

If you are looking to deploy a kiosk system into your business then we recommend that you have a look at our critical guide which looks at the things businesses need to consider when deploying a public facing kiosk. You can access the Kiosk Guide here.

For more information visit Protouch today.

Protouch wins 2010 Retail Systems Award

We received the award in partnership with XN Leisure and Aberdeen Sports Village Leisure Centre for their ‘Virtual Receptionist’ kiosk solution during the awards ceremony held at Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Park Lane on 28 October 2010.   

“The award went to a project that is helping a company to control costs, increase profitability and efficiency while at the same time increasing the standard and quality of service,” announced the Retail Systems judges.   

The 2010 judging panel included: Luke Phillips, Head of Information Systems, Kurt Geiger; Sharon Peters, Programme Manager at Retail Systems, Marks & Spencer; Hayley Meenan-Wilkin, Head of Web Operations, Tesco.com; and Scott Thompson, Editor for Retail Systems.   

Now into its fifth year, the Awards look to recognise excellence and innovation in the field of information technology within the UK retail sector.   

The ‘Virtual Receptionist’ automated the whole booking, ticketing and payment process for Aberdeen Sports Village and is now used by 80 per cent of its members.   

It has leveraged Aberdeen Sports Village resources by turning receptionist staff into Customer Service Ambassadors and has greatly enhanced customer experience by increasing the speed of transactions and efficiency with which customers can now check in and make bookings.