What is a Kiosk (as of 2023)

What is a Kiosk?

Kiosks are easy to define but also confusing. Round structures in Turkey where village notices were published is the origin. We maintain and update this post on Kiosk Industry (as we have for 30 years).

And then came computers and electronic kiosks.

Is the below image a kiosk?

Short answer is no.

You’ll note that we often use the phrase “kiosk kiosks”. That indicates that?whatever is being called a kiosk, is actually a kiosk.??Many will call a collection of components scattered on a table, connected to a touchscreen a kiosk. It is not. They do make excellent greek pizza with gyro, kalamata olives (which my cat likes better than catnip) and feta...

Let's refresh ourselves with an image of a real "kiosk kiosks". This is from NRA show in May and shows GoDaddy booth (which is weird) with a complete lineup of kiosks. Olea & Bite out front and Samsungs and Elo Wallabees. In the bottom left corner is my circa 1999 bag from Elo TouchSystems.

Definition of Kiosks – A Long Catalog of Attempts

• From Cambridge — a small building where things such as candy, drinks, or newspapers are sold through an open window
• Oxford — a small shop, open at the front, where newspapers, drinks, etc. are sold. In some countries?kiosks?also sell food and things used in the home.
• Etymology — 1620s, “kind of open pavilion” (made of light wood, etc., often supported by pillars), from French kiosque (17c.), which is (along with German and Polish kiosk) from Turkish koshk, ki?shk “pavilion, summer house,” from Persian kushk “palace, villa; pavilion, portico.” They were introduced in Western Europe 17c. as ornaments in gardens and parks. Later of street newsstands (1865), on some resemblance of shape, a sense perhaps originally in French. Modern sense has been influenced by British telephone kiosk (1928).
• 1472 – Mehmed II the Conqueror built the Tiled Kiosk [see Wikipedia] - The historical series on Netflix by the way is highly recommended. Vlad the Impaler gets up your spine so to speak. Interesting that he was the hero for the early Christians against Moslem religion. His endless fame turned out to be a book by someone in Scotland...

The closest “kiosks” to those might be modern-day RMUs or Remote Merchandising Units.?Digital signage displays (airport departure and arrival times) centered in airport terminals are variations of the “informational kiosk”

Definition of Kiosks in Today’s World

Here is a collection of “definitions” which have been proffered, attempted by various entities. Public computer systems by Los Alamos has held up pretty well for 30 years. Still a baseline for me.

From Los Alamos Report 1994 –

• Until recently, it was a small, rugged standalone structure often used as a newsstand, bandstand, or other commercial enterprise. The definition is evolving to include computer systems found in public places. These public computer systems are designed to provide an alternative avenue to reach information and services. The user is presented with an attractive structure that has been designed to provide a simple, friendly interface to novice computer users. It performs an easily automated task, freeing personnel from boring, tedious labor.?Link

Types of Kiosks According To Los Alamos Report

• They are being used as a primary tool to improve the effectiveness of limited personnel and provide easy and convenient access to a wide range of services. Most of these kiosks are built to perform one of the following functions:
• To advertise a commercial product.
• To collect or dispense specific information.
• To exchange information, funds, and/or services.

ChatGPT 2023

• — It is a small, free-standing physical structure used for displaying information or selling products or services. It typically includes an interactive screen or touchpad for users to access information or complete transactions. They are commonly found in public places such as airports, shopping malls, and train stations. (Chatgpt seems to be pretty useless with niche technology)

Kiosk Industry

• A self-service kiosk or computer kiosk (some like an electronic kiosk) is a standalone terminal used by customers and employees to provide a self-service channel for general transactions. They can be informational (a?wayfinding?provides directions, for example), or they can be transactional (e.g., Verizon bill pay). (We tend toward transactional and informational. AKA as how easy to calculate ROI)

Investopedia

• Refers to a small, temporary, stand-alone booth used in high-traffic areas for marketing purposes.It is usually manned by one or two individuals who help attract attention to the booth to get new customers. Retail locations are frequently located in shopping malls or on busy city streets with significant?foot traffic?and provide owners with a low-cost alternative to market their products or services. (Yep, this the RMU)

KioskMarketplace 2023 Census

• “An interactive, self-serve device provided by a venue, not the user, that helps the user do something that is informational and/or transactional that streamlines, automates or eliminates wait or cost.” (They lost me at "self-serve..sounds like someone playing tennis with themselves)

Here is a “Shady Kiosk” from a Dollar General store. Is this a kiosk kiosk? Nope. It is desktop monitor stuck on a table.?Apparently this kiosk “cost” a dollar to make.

What They Are NOT

Here is a partial photo of Amazon distribution center in Colorado. Note the literally hundreds of EV Charging Stations. Some people call these kiosks.

They are not.

• For purposes of market research they are not SCOs at Krogers or Walmart. Those are hybrid POS checkouts (still subject to ADA regulations though they mostly ignore them. At least NCR does, not sure about Toshivba.
• Again, for purposes of market research they are NOT ATMs, though there are now Bitcoin ATMs and those are built by kiosk manufacturers.
• Those nice Verizon RMUs at airports??They are not kiosks.
• The chocolate stations at the airports? They are automatic stop for me when I am flying home, however, they are not kiosk kiosks.
• Digital signage??The DS industry likes to insert the word “Interactive” but that is irrelevant for digital signage purposes. Digital signage is a sign (albeit pretty fancy with curved LED the size of Madison Square Garden) last we checked.
• EV Chargers — that gets complicated as there are multiple models and some qualify as a kiosk and some do not. See picture above.
• Smart City??Double-sided outdoor 55s providing wayfinding and emergency services. Sounds like a kiosk to me…

Like More Pictures?

We log photos on Pinterest and separate into categories. Lots of kiosk manufacturers "thumb thru" them to get kiosk design ideas. Some of them have aged very good, others not so much.

Here is a partial screencap. I'm thinking 30+ categories (or applications).