Self-service, credit-checking kiosks hit furniture store floors
By Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, February 15, 2004
PITTSBURGH — A new supplier of sophisticated, self-service kiosk-and-portal systems for retailers is making inroads in the furniture industry.
After its commercial launch last month, Innovative Retail Systems has kiosks in all 11 Levin Furniture stores, as well as trials under way at Cardi's in Providence, R.I., Marlo Furniture in metro Washington, and Baer's in South Florida. A verbal agreement also has been reached with Goldstein's Furniture, based in Hermitage, Pa.
Partnered with several major private-label credit providers, including Wells Fargo and Alliance Data, Innovative Retail Systems' kiosks can give in-store consumers electronic credit replies in 15 to 30 seconds.
Information gathered during credit applications is available on a portal offered by the company to help retail sales associates more rapidly and frequently close sales.
Called 360° Retail Solution, the kiosk-and-portal system is designed to be "a business intelligence information center that helps sales staff better understand their customers," said David Weyher, CEO of Innovative, which is aiming to raise $3 million in venture capital this quarter.
Mount Pleasant, Pa.-based Levin Furniture installed two kiosks in each of its 11 stores in metro Pittsburgh and the Cleveland/Canton, Ohio area. The earliest of these installations has been in place for nearly a year, with Levin and Innovative working out the kinks. Innovative officially launched its kiosk-and-portal system at the National Retail Federation show in New York last month.
Since installing the kiosks, Levin has seen the credit applications processed by its stores increase by 50% to 75%, said Nick Rossi, Levin's director of information technology. And 98% of the chain's credit applications are being processed by the kiosks, freeing the company's 225 sales associates for other duties, Rossi said.
Levin turned to Innovative after a self-styled kiosk system failed to consistently provide desired results. Rossi met Weyher at the September 2002 Kiosk Show in Minneapolis. Innovative developed the kiosk software and system. Apunix Computer Services developed the Sun Microsystems computers to run it, and CommNav provided the open-source portal technology.
Since the average ticket at Levin is $1,100 to $1,300, Rossi said it was important to maximize the amount of credit available to consumers coming into the stores. Kiosks were seen as the solution.
At three-store Cardi's, which works with Wells Fargo, a pilot program is under way, with two kiosks installed in one store. Another four kiosks are planned.
Marlo so far has tested only the portal technology. A kiosk trial is planned by the four-store chain by the end of March.
"Our solution is a showroom-based solution," Weyher said. "It's all based on the showroom traffic the retailers work so hard to generate."
Other applications include promotional programs that can generate item- or discount-specific coupons for credit applicants while they wait, and product catalogs that show consumers precisely where in the showroom a desired item is displayed.
Weyher said the $3 million sought in venture capital would go toward expanding sales and marketing staff and initiatives.
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