Kiosks: The Digital Tide is Coming In
I loved one reaction I heard on The 404 in connection to the just announced download kiosks at Blockbuster stores– “Hey kids, get in the car. We are driving to the internet.”
HMV seemingly also has a sneakernet concept store on the way.
This all makes me think of when I worked at Indigo and we pulled the plug on the special orders service. It was replaced by self-serve kiosks. I don’t have any numbers to back this up but ancedotally my sense was it hurt the business. We had a lock on that customer’s business. Eventually they stayed home and comparsion-shopped, delivering them to the cheaper prices on Amazon.
Ten years later HMV, Borders, and Blockbuster are playing catch-up. I don’t think it is enough. On the other hand, if Apple had a “music consultant” at every genius bar, I would probably check that out. It all comes down to if the kiosk is at the core of the customer experience or if it feels bolted-on.
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