New Kiosks Engage and Sell Customers In-Store

The new generation of retail kiosks, from companies like Intel, IBM and Microsoft, claim to help retailers better connect with consumers and how they like to shop.  According to the New York Times, the new kiosks are sleek  and large touch screens — as well as software that, depending on the application, can recognize customers, know what they’ve bought in the past, point out bargains and even let them try out virtual clothing, hair colors and cosmetics onscreen.

One new application, the Virtual Mirror kiosk, was created by IBM and its business partner EZface, to let customers experiment virtually with beauty aides like new cosmetics or hair coloring. The kiosk has a camera to capture the shopper’s image and a scanner to record the product the shopper wants to try.