Do you know what this is? It’s a kiosk. Can you see how well they let the customers know it was a kiosk?
The stuffed animals on top gives it away. Right?
How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways:
- No signage whatsoever. Is this a kiosk? Is this an employee station? Is this the corner of a bedroom in a Crate and Barrel catalog?
- No screensaver showing even the logo of the store (it’s the Windows 95 Morphing Ball thingy).
- A small LCD display with a keyboard and mouse (both appeared to be from 1995 as well).
- What happens when you activate the computer? You get (wait for it….wait for it….) the website of the company!
- It’s located conveniently right next to the cashier, where the line for people winds when it’s busy, and no where near anything you could buy in the store.
So what’s the lesson here? Electronic connectivity is permeating every type of environment. It doesn’t matter if you’re a big box retailer, a cinema, a library, a museum, a hospital, a gas station, or a toy store (as the one above is); the internet, digital screens, and mobile devices will now and forever play a crucial role in your ability to engage a customer and turn them into a consumer.
While this is at times a nebulous and challenging industry, it’s not rocket science. There are basic merchandising and marketing principles that apply, even for a screen.
If you can’t even try to do this half right, don’t try at all. I’m certain more money was spent on the Manitoba Maple fixture than the computer they pulled out of storage to run this thing.
Dreadful.
