کیوسک 21: نقش جدید برای کیوسک های اطلاعات؟

This paper discusses and analyses the latest generation of information kiosks, Kiosks 21, which feature information provision/promotion, interaction, transaction and relationships. In contrast to their task based predecessors, these kiosks focus on customer service delivery to ‘customers in context’. Five case studies of such kiosks located, respectively, in an airport, railway station, car rental base, hotel lobby and shopping mall are analysed to demonstrate the way in which the kiosks are implemented to meet the differing requirements of customers in different contexts. Case studies are analysed in terms of kiosk design and location, user profile, information architecture, interface design, communication and commerce. A range of areas for research and development are proposed.

Information kiosks, or public access kiosks, are located in public thoroughfares, shopping malls, airports, railways stations and other locations as a substitute for, or to complement, customer service through a human service agent. In contrast to the other public access information arena, the Web accessed in the home or office, kiosks have received little media, professional or academic attention. Early kiosks, such as those reviewed by Rowley (1995) were typically uninteresting boxes with relatively simple interfaces, designed specifically to allow customers to conduct a simple transaction, such as placing an order, or locating a specific item of information, such as a recipe or a repayment rate for a mortgage (Rowley & Slack, 2000). The kiosks that are now making an appearance represent a significant change of perspective on the role and nature of kiosks. These 21st century kiosks, described in Fig. 1 as Kiosks 21, support multiple functions including most or all of: information provision, interaction between user and consumer to support the customisation of information, transactions (such as ticket purchase), and relationship building through loyalty schemes or other communication opportunities. They fulfil the four functions of kiosks described by Rowley and Slack (2000): information provision/promotion, interaction, transaction and relationships. Most significantly, Kiosks 21 represent a shift from task focus to customer focus in kiosk design. Instead of being designed to allow a customer to complete a single task, or set of closely related tasks, the kiosks offer a range of information and services tailored to the ‘customer in context’. Thus, a kiosk in a shopping centre focuses on shopping-related transactions, and information, whilst a kiosk in a hotel lobby provides travel and tourist information (often with several language options) appropriate to the location of the hotel. This transition to multifunctionality and the creation of a complete support service for the ‘customer in context’ necessitates strategic collaboration in the provision of the information and services that can be accessed through the kiosk. Responsibility for the management of the kiosk in these instances often lies with an infomediary, who specialises in kiosks, rather than individual retailers or store groups. Full-size image (28 K) Fig. 1. Comparing early kiosks to Kiosks 21. Figure options Another significant transition is in the area of dialog design. Early kiosks had very simple touch screen interfaces in which customers selected options by touching one of a number of buttons, and thereby navigated their way through the limited number of screens available for display. Kiosks 21 offer Windows or Web type functionality that includes scroll bars, pointer, hyperlinks, data entry forms, drop down lists and animation, which make for a more complex interface. This switch to more complex interfaces has been driven by: • Task or function—with the shift from task completion to customer service delivery, kiosks are designed to support a wider range of activities, some of which are relatively complex, and include information retrieval and commercial transactions. • Information source—when web pages are displayed this increases the detail on the screen, and also produces pages that need to be scrolled because they exceed the screen size. • Technology—associated primarily with the connectivity offered by the internet, which provides access to real time information, and communication links, such as are available through e-mail. • User—Kiosks 21 assume a computer literate user who understands a web page format, and is prepared to navigate a larger and more complex infobase. Finally, the location and physical design of kiosks suggest that their originators have confidence in the service that the kiosks provide. Kiosks have come out of the shadows. Instead of being relegated to a quiet corner, so that the user can focus on their task, kiosks are now proudly located in entrances to stores, malls and other public thoroughfares. The enhanced physical design of the kiosk makes it more difficult for users to overlook them. Kiosk housings are stylishly designed and, where appropriate, consistent with corporate images. The use of moving images either on the screen itself, in the form of video feeds or animation, or on television screens above the kiosks attracts attention. Now users notice them, approach them and use them on their way through a thoroughfare. Customer service kiosks designed to support the activities of the ‘customer in context’ will be different in each context. There is an important distinction to be made between environment and context. Environment is the physical environment in which the kiosk is located, and has characteristics such as noise level, propensity to interruption, traffic and lighting; these issues are discussed, to an extent, in the ergonomics literature (Smith, 1997). Context embraces environment, but also includes other dimensions of the customer experience. These include the activities and purpose of the customer when they encounter the kiosk, and even social and emotional factors. Context is concerned with the way in which the kiosk experience is integrated into, or interfaces with the wider travel, leisure or shopping experience. Accordingly, this article describes and analyses kiosks in different contexts, with a view to demonstrating the way in which the characteristics shown in Fig. 1 are evident in different kiosks.

The above case studies offer a number of examples of Kiosks 21. Each of these kiosks is necessarily different as they seek to serve the ‘customer in context’, but the features listed in Fig. 1 can be used to characterise this new generation of kiosks. Kiosks have been physically relocated to centre stage. The stage is set for kiosks to make a significant contribution in e-business, and to the use of IT in service delivery in traditional retailing and other service environments. This article has proposed and used a framework for the analysis of kiosks that embraces the following criteria: • Kiosk design and location • User profile • Information architecture • Interface design • Communication • Commerce This framework has been applied to kiosks located in Los Angeles, Manchester and London. Although early emphasis has been on the information architecture, and the interface design, these are, in fact, dependent variables. The key issue is the role of the kiosk. In this context, we propose that as the number of kiosks increases and their range of applications develop, it will be useful to categorise kiosks in terms of their objectives. These objectives can be positioned along four dimensions. Target audience: Amongst these case studies there are examples of kiosks that will be used primarily by frequent users to a facility (such as a railway station), and those that will be used by ‘tourists’, or people who are new to the facility. Frequent users can be expected to gain a level of familiarity with the kiosk and its services, and may be susceptible to loyalty schemes. ‘Tourists’ are all naı̈ve users of the kiosk, and are often in environments that are unfamiliar to them. Business model: Some information and transactions will be free, and others will be charged. Free services may be seen as promotion and/or public service. Charged services are part of commerce and its associated customer service. Most kiosks will include a mixture of free and charged services. Location: There are two options for kiosk location, the premises of the retailer or service outlet responsible for the kiosks, or public thoroughfares. Content source: There are two options for content source, and these have implications for the strategic relationships underpinning the creation of the kiosk. Kiosk content may derive from a single source and be focussed on the services of one organisation, or may be assembled from various sources. In this case, kiosks are likely to be managed by an Infomediary. This analysis suggests a range of areas for future development of kiosks and research that will provide further insights into the most effective design of kiosks, and their role as a customer service and communication interface. These are framed as a series of questions: 1. Will kiosks still be necessary with the advent of mobile technologies? What are the respective roles of kiosks and mobile technologies for the customer on the move? 2. What are the business opportunities presented by kiosks? Who will take the strategic control over kiosks? Retailers, local government services (such as libraries and other providers of community information) infomediaries, or financial service organisations? 3. What is the link between e-business use in the home and over the Internet, and kiosk use? Will customers transfer between these environments? For example will some retailers, such as Interflora, or car rental, be able to make an easy transition between these two contexts, and provide e-business opportunities through whichever outlet suits the customer and generate reciprocal loyalty through their presence in both channels? 4. What will make a customer a regular or loyal user of a particular kiosk or a chain of kiosks to be found, for instance, in every railway station or airport? Banking or credit card transactions, commerce, or directional information? 5. What is the optimal information architecture and interface design for different applications? 6. How can kiosk managers understand the needs of users so that the content is restricted to the information and transactions suitable for the target audience, and so that all interactions are quick and to the point? 7. What is consumer reaction to and behaviour in the context of kiosks? What is the frequency of use? What is the optimal frequency of use? For how long are consumers prepared to search a kiosk? How can interest be created and usage level raised? What impact do coupons and discount offers have on use of the kiosk and visits to stores? What do customers view as the actual and potential value added features of kiosks?