Marks & Spencer updates kiosk tech
By Retail Technology | Friday December 20 2013
Polytouch self-service terminals are designed to deliver true multichannel retailing by uniting online and instore shopping for UK High Street retailer
A new self-service shopping and payment terminal using chip and personal identification number (PIN) authorisation has been debuted by Marks and Spencer (M&S) in the UK.
M&S is one of the first retailers involved in the roll out phase kicked off by the technology providers behind these new polytouch self-service terminals, Wincor Nixdorf and Pyramid Computer.
As of November 2013, the vendors said approximately 700 polytouch kiosks in 32 and 22-inch format had been deployed to provide an even more convenient shopping experience by reducing queue times and further improving customer service.
Security standards compliant
They added that polytouch was an all in one, multi-touch system and platform for interactive applications. The polytouch device allows customers to browse for products held either instore or online, and is the first polytouch touchscreen interface in the UK to be equipped with integrated chip & PIN authorisation to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), allowing customers to safely pay for their purchases instantly.
The modular design has enabled previously deployed 32-inch units to be field upgraded from magnetic stripe reader (MSR) to chip & PIN technology, while the new 22-inch units are shipping with chip & PIN as standard.
Integrated store and online experience
M&S is using the terminals to make the instore shopping experience more convenient for customers by allowing them to move more freely between shopping channels and make payments as smoothly as possible. Wincor added that it used its project management and quality assurance experience to help M&S develop and de-risk this first-of-a-kind instore technology.
Kyle McGinn, head of M&S new channels and digital labs, said in a statement: “Our goal is to be the best of M&S in every store and these kiosks do that in a convenient and practical way, whilst also providing inspiration and choice. We’re encouraged with the customer feedback we’ve received so far and the performance we are getting from these devices.”
