Web-enabled in-store kiosks have generated “hundreds of millions” in sales since January, when Boston-bases Staples Inc. completed the installation of kiosks in 1,000 Staples stores, J.B. Lyon, vice president at Staples Direct, tells Internet Retailer. Though Staples has yet to dig deeper into the numbers, it believes a fair amount of that number represents incremental sales, Lyon says. “We’re thrilled,” he says, adding that the sales generated through the kiosks have paid for their installation, though he did not disclose the cost of the installation.
The web-enabled kiosk link in-store Staples customers directly to the inventory management system at Staples.com, allowing store shoppers to determine from the larger dot-com inventory the availability of items they don’t see in-store, order at the kiosks for delivery to home or office, and pay online or at the store register with a receipt they can print at the kiosk. Each store receives credit for kiosk sales, and sales associates receive training in how to use the kiosks and assist shoppers in using them
In addition to the sales lift, Staples is beginning to use data from the kiosks to optimize store promotions. An unexpected benefit of the kiosks has been that they’re proving to be the most efficient way to update store associates on fast-changing technical specifications for products, Lyon adds.
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