(by Mark Riley)

According to Business Wire, by 2007, the US self-service transaction market could be worth almost USD 1.3 trillion, fueled by strong consumer demand for self-checkout systems. In 2003, US consumers initiated almost USD 128 billion in sales at self-checkout machines such as kiosks, and IHL Consulting predicts this total to grow by 73 per cent in 2004, and 88 per cent in 2005. Credit, debit and smart cards facilitated about USD 61 billion of the nearly USD 128 billion spent at kiosks in 2003, with many retailers reporting kiosks to account for 15 to 40 per cent of total in-store sales.

Over 250,000 kiosks will be installed in retail stores and public areas in North America by 2005, a separate report from research firm Summit Research Associates indicates. Retail self-checkouts, digital photography kiosks and airline check-ins, in particular, are jump-starting the kiosk industry, which Summit believes is emerging from an 18-month slump. Convenience store chains are a potentially profitable market for kiosks, but the ‘killer app’ is to have multi-channel software that uses one application to drive a kiosk and hand-held devices, display screens and price checks.