June 9, 2008
Mall Kiosks Offer Teeth Cleaning and More
By Tom Ryan
Since their inception in the eighties, mall kiosks have sold everything from candles to cell phones to real estate. But now they’re increasingly moving into personal care services. The biggest trend appears to be teeth whitening boutiques, but they also extend to eyebrow threading, mineral makeup applications, skin exfoliation, hair extension, henna tattoos, and massage tables.
“People are happy to spend more money on personal care in order to feel good,” Laurel Sibert, portfolio vice president of marketing for Simon New England, which owns 18 malls in New England, told The Boston Herald. “The neat thing is that kiosk carts in the mall allow the vendor to demonstrate their services to people walking by while promoting their product.”
Aside from the need to be able to perform such services inside a typically ten-by-ten foot space, some watchdogs claim these medical-type procedures are not safe. For instance, many dental experts claim the growing number of teeth whitening kiosks lack running water, are run by improperly trained employees, and can’t handle follow up visits.
Others wonder if consumers will be willing to have such procedures performed on them for all mall watchers to see.
“I just saw a woman having her mustache threaded in front of everyone,” Carissa Gonski, 16, of Stoughton, MA, told the Herald, while shopping at the mall during a school field trip. “I mean, they should have some sort of wall up. Who would want to see that?”
But Nathasha Alozada, 20, of Dorchester, MA, told the newspaper that she can deal with the stares when getting her eyebrows threaded at the mall if it makes her look good at a decent price.
“It gives the business exposure and it’s comfortable,” she said. “I don’t care what anyone thinks. And I don’t think a lot of people do. You should see this place on the weekends. It’s so busy.”
The arrival comes as consumers increasingly vex about the continued expansion of mall kiosks, particularly the hard sell tactics many use to tempt mall walkers.
Discussion Question: What do you think of the expansion of kiosks at malls selling teeth whitening, skin exfoliation and other personal care services? Has the proliferation of kiosks added to or subtracted from the mall shopping experience? Have kiosks become necessary for mall managers to make money?
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Poll
Kiosks have often been used to test concepts before they become fully in-line concepts. Personal service kiosks would seem natural, as malls continue to find a reason why shoppers should visit them, rather than the growing number of lifestyle centers, namely a large selection of one stop shopping reasons. Taking care of all of one’s personal needs in quick in/quick out formats makes a lot of sense. The only question revolves around the privacy of what the user is having done.
It depends on the mall. There is nothing wrong with cluttering the regional mall with kiosks as long as it fits the image that particular mall is trying to make.
However in as much as I strongly believe that supply and demand will ultimately take care of which businesses come and go, I do think that many malls have tended to be careless about the numbers of kiosks they allow to any one given segment or category. There are a lot of lonely kiosk clerks standing around with nothing to do.
There is no question that mall owners are looking for any way to make money, and if they are able to rent our floor space for kiosk operations, and increase their revenue, they will do so. But at what risk? From an aesthetic point of view, the malls are increasingly looking like flea markets, with shoppers having to dodge the proliferation of kiosks. It tends to devalue the mall itself, and while possibly providing more income for the mall owner in the short run, if it drives shoppers away, it will reduce overall long-term revenue.
In addition, the mall owner is greatly at risk when a customer who is getting their eyebrows threaded, or their teeth whitened, gets an infection, especially one that is life threatening. While the mall owner will say that the infection is not caused by them, the customer will have a strong case because their “medical” or “beauty” procedure was performed in a non-walled environment, with the only walls being the mall owners. This will happen, it is just a matter of time.
If I were a mall owner, this is not a strategy that I would be executing. The risks seem to outweigh the potential rewards.
I was recently “hounded” at an upscale mall in Las Vegas by some “kiosk bullies” trying to sell me some lotion that was $80 per jar. And they were approaching every person that walked by, not reading the non-verbal signs when someone is not interested.
If these kiosk owners rely only on the shoppers walking through the mall, and therefore have to approach and aggressively sell to each of them, I don’t think that it’s good for the mall. Too many of these incidents will upset shoppers enough that they won’t go back.
The hustle is on–and increasing. Malls want and need more revenue. So expect to see more and more kiosks crowding malls and even more aggressive Kiosk Commandos operating them.
The appeal of the kiosk retailing approach is segmented. The adventurous shoppers tend to like the inherent variety and communal-type activity. Those who don’t like to be bothered, sprayed, attacked or intimated by retailers they don’t relate to do not cotton to today’s Kiosk Commandos. Hopefully malls will fine tune the extent of their future Commando Retailing to their specific mall audiences or eventually they could die out like a raisin in the sun.
Very interesting topic, and one that I think is just now gaining traction. My colleagues and I have been on this for almost two years now, and from communications with ICSC there are no studies out there which have looked at how customers respond to this growing phenomenon: i.e. regardless of the amount of extra revenue generated for the mall developers, do kiosks drive customers away from the mall?
From focus groups and a large national survey, we have found that kiosks (mall carts, etc.) may not be doing what mall developers hope, when it comes to how they affect customers. One only need go into a mall with high-end retailers such as Neiman’s, Nordstom, etc, to know that those retailers understand the negative effect that kiosks have.
Try it: go to a mall where there is a wing anchored by an upscale department store, and surrounded by upscale specialty stores AS WELL as mid-range retailers (e.g., Penney, Sears, Macy’s etc.). You will find that kiosks line the hallways in front of and between these anchors, but that the hallways approaching the upscale tenants are devoid of kiosks.
There is a reason that life-style centers are growing in popularity. One reason may be no kiosks.
Perhaps the outdoor malls are more able to incorporate kiosks without creating a feeling of clutter and claustrophobia. They are almost like street vendors. But for the most part, the kiosk is not creating an environment conducive to more upscale shopping. It is reminiscent of pushcart environments which speaks to a more “immigrant” lower income experience. If that’s the desired effect, there may be a future for kiosks. Otherwise, they will prove out or fail based on sales.
These little add on services are what gives a mall its character. My observations here in Toronto would suggest that most malls are trying to cater to a higher end client. Almost all major indoor malls here in Toronto and the GTA have gone through some sort of renovation or expansion. Adding carts that offer massage, manicures, cosmetics and other healthy living related services definitely add a different ambiance.
Now if they can only add more of those water massage units. They are always booked solid and I’ve wanted to try it for the longest time.
Respondents have the right idea–if kiosk staff don’t bully patrons, they’ll be very successful.
Count on a new wave of small personal service businesses to give cash-strapped shoppers a little self-esteem boost without breaking the bank.
Once upon a time, every major indoor mall seemed like it was 40% shoe stores. After that, every major indoor mall had at least 4 different cellular kiosks. If next year every major indoor mall has massage and dental kiosks, they’ll just be boring me-too features in a long historical line of other boring me-too features.
Once a novelty, mall kiosks are now becoming an annoyance, as their presence has spread from seasonal to year-round, and from select locations to every corridor in most malls.
While I am a huge proponent of supporting the small business owner and entrepreneur, mall operators must be more mindful of how the customer experience can be negatively impacted when mall guests must navigate their way through an obstacle course of kiosks staffed with overly aggressive employees.
Such an environment creates navigational “clutter” and can lead to consumers reducing shopping time, avoiding certain corridors, or being more selective in which stores to shop, and instead entering the mall and spending more time in an anchor store.
The objective is to create an environment to maximize shopping time and spend. Unfortunately, many mall kiosk strategies detract from, rather than support this goal.
At last count, the number of traditional mall openings slated for the coming year is zero. Existing malls have to do something when their “anchors” are the very mid-tier department stores that are struggling the most in this economic downturn. You can’t blame existing malls for hedging their bets and attempting to hold onto folks’ attention, and wallets, for just a few minutes more by adding service businesses. No different than Walgreens, Wal-Mart….
If I were a mall owner, I would be concerned about the quality of care, cleanliness and training of personnel provided through kiosk services like teeth whitening, eyebrow threading, tatoos, hair extension, etc. I’d also be wary of increased liability from these services. However, massages, manicures and cosmetics sound great to me.
More Discussions
Has Same-Day Delivery Become an Expectation Across Retail?
Are expectations around retail delivery speed in flux?OpenAI Names the Infrastructure Standard for Agentic Commerce
Will OpenAI or Google (or another entity) set the gold standard for agentic commerce?Is Five Below Poised For Even Greater Growth?
Five Below is hitting serious growth numbers. Can this trend continue?
Kiosks have often been used to test concepts before they become fully in-line concepts. Personal service kiosks would seem natural, as malls continue to find a reason why shoppers should visit them, rather than the growing number of lifestyle centers, namely a large selection of one stop shopping reasons. Taking care of all of one’s personal needs in quick in/quick out formats makes a lot of sense. The only question revolves around the privacy of what the user is having done.
It depends on the mall. There is nothing wrong with cluttering the regional mall with kiosks as long as it fits the image that particular mall is trying to make.
However in as much as I strongly believe that supply and demand will ultimately take care of which businesses come and go, I do think that many malls have tended to be careless about the numbers of kiosks they allow to any one given segment or category. There are a lot of lonely kiosk clerks standing around with nothing to do.
There is no question that mall owners are looking for any way to make money, and if they are able to rent our floor space for kiosk operations, and increase their revenue, they will do so. But at what risk? From an aesthetic point of view, the malls are increasingly looking like flea markets, with shoppers having to dodge the proliferation of kiosks. It tends to devalue the mall itself, and while possibly providing more income for the mall owner in the short run, if it drives shoppers away, it will reduce overall long-term revenue.
In addition, the mall owner is greatly at risk when a customer who is getting their eyebrows threaded, or their teeth whitened, gets an infection, especially one that is life threatening. While the mall owner will say that the infection is not caused by them, the customer will have a strong case because their “medical” or “beauty” procedure was performed in a non-walled environment, with the only walls being the mall owners. This will happen, it is just a matter of time.
If I were a mall owner, this is not a strategy that I would be executing. The risks seem to outweigh the potential rewards.
I was recently “hounded” at an upscale mall in Las Vegas by some “kiosk bullies” trying to sell me some lotion that was $80 per jar. And they were approaching every person that walked by, not reading the non-verbal signs when someone is not interested.
If these kiosk owners rely only on the shoppers walking through the mall, and therefore have to approach and aggressively sell to each of them, I don’t think that it’s good for the mall. Too many of these incidents will upset shoppers enough that they won’t go back.
The hustle is on–and increasing. Malls want and need more revenue. So expect to see more and more kiosks crowding malls and even more aggressive Kiosk Commandos operating them.
The appeal of the kiosk retailing approach is segmented. The adventurous shoppers tend to like the inherent variety and communal-type activity. Those who don’t like to be bothered, sprayed, attacked or intimated by retailers they don’t relate to do not cotton to today’s Kiosk Commandos. Hopefully malls will fine tune the extent of their future Commando Retailing to their specific mall audiences or eventually they could die out like a raisin in the sun.
Very interesting topic, and one that I think is just now gaining traction. My colleagues and I have been on this for almost two years now, and from communications with ICSC there are no studies out there which have looked at how customers respond to this growing phenomenon: i.e. regardless of the amount of extra revenue generated for the mall developers, do kiosks drive customers away from the mall?
From focus groups and a large national survey, we have found that kiosks (mall carts, etc.) may not be doing what mall developers hope, when it comes to how they affect customers. One only need go into a mall with high-end retailers such as Neiman’s, Nordstom, etc, to know that those retailers understand the negative effect that kiosks have.
Try it: go to a mall where there is a wing anchored by an upscale department store, and surrounded by upscale specialty stores AS WELL as mid-range retailers (e.g., Penney, Sears, Macy’s etc.). You will find that kiosks line the hallways in front of and between these anchors, but that the hallways approaching the upscale tenants are devoid of kiosks.
There is a reason that life-style centers are growing in popularity. One reason may be no kiosks.
Perhaps the outdoor malls are more able to incorporate kiosks without creating a feeling of clutter and claustrophobia. They are almost like street vendors. But for the most part, the kiosk is not creating an environment conducive to more upscale shopping. It is reminiscent of pushcart environments which speaks to a more “immigrant” lower income experience. If that’s the desired effect, there may be a future for kiosks. Otherwise, they will prove out or fail based on sales.
These little add on services are what gives a mall its character. My observations here in Toronto would suggest that most malls are trying to cater to a higher end client. Almost all major indoor malls here in Toronto and the GTA have gone through some sort of renovation or expansion. Adding carts that offer massage, manicures, cosmetics and other healthy living related services definitely add a different ambiance.
Now if they can only add more of those water massage units. They are always booked solid and I’ve wanted to try it for the longest time.
Respondents have the right idea–if kiosk staff don’t bully patrons, they’ll be very successful.
Count on a new wave of small personal service businesses to give cash-strapped shoppers a little self-esteem boost without breaking the bank.
Once upon a time, every major indoor mall seemed like it was 40% shoe stores. After that, every major indoor mall had at least 4 different cellular kiosks. If next year every major indoor mall has massage and dental kiosks, they’ll just be boring me-too features in a long historical line of other boring me-too features.
Once a novelty, mall kiosks are now becoming an annoyance, as their presence has spread from seasonal to year-round, and from select locations to every corridor in most malls.
While I am a huge proponent of supporting the small business owner and entrepreneur, mall operators must be more mindful of how the customer experience can be negatively impacted when mall guests must navigate their way through an obstacle course of kiosks staffed with overly aggressive employees.
Such an environment creates navigational “clutter” and can lead to consumers reducing shopping time, avoiding certain corridors, or being more selective in which stores to shop, and instead entering the mall and spending more time in an anchor store.
The objective is to create an environment to maximize shopping time and spend. Unfortunately, many mall kiosk strategies detract from, rather than support this goal.
At last count, the number of traditional mall openings slated for the coming year is zero. Existing malls have to do something when their “anchors” are the very mid-tier department stores that are struggling the most in this economic downturn. You can’t blame existing malls for hedging their bets and attempting to hold onto folks’ attention, and wallets, for just a few minutes more by adding service businesses. No different than Walgreens, Wal-Mart….
If I were a mall owner, I would be concerned about the quality of care, cleanliness and training of personnel provided through kiosk services like teeth whitening, eyebrow threading, tatoos, hair extension, etc. I’d also be wary of increased liability from these services. However, massages, manicures and cosmetics sound great to me.