Competition develops at mass for interactive kiosk market

Discount Store News, March 23, 1998 by Laura Heller

The interactive photo kiosk market is becoming more competitive as new product introductions are being offered by some of the biggest names in photography.

Eastman Kodak, Fujifilm, Polaroid and Agfa all have entries in the photo kiosk market, and each hopes to achieve placement at the nation's largest retail chains.

While the kiosks first made inroads into specialty photo stores, mass merchants are quickly catching on. According to Kodak, Wal-Mart now has 700 systems in place, and Target and Kmart aren't far behind.

But all interactive photo kiosks are not created equal.

According to Steve Blum, director of electronic technology for Sony, photo kiosks fall into two groups: imaging workstations intended to enhance existing photo images; and stations that are developed purely for amusement and novelty items such as stickers and postcards.

Sony does not manufacture its own photo kiosk, but it has developed and licensed technology used by other vendor partners, including Agfa and Polaroid.

Blum added that these workstations can be very profitable.

Unfortunately, it's too early to tell just how profitable, and the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) is still gathering initial information concerning the trend.

Overall, there is a consensus among those in the industry that the stations can only grow in popularity as consumers become more familiar with the operations.

Kiosks are very popular in Japan, and manufacturers are hoping that they will be just as popular in the United States. Novelty stations, such as those that create stickers from photos, offer retailers opportunities for add-on sales.

Kodak will place an Image Magic kiosk in a General Cinema movie theater in Framingham, Mass., with plans to expand into other General Cinema theaters. The Image Magic kiosks print sheets of postage stamp-size stickers. Consumers can choose from several different themes and backgrounds.

Kodak was one of the first companies to jump into the photo kiosk market. It recenthly renamed its Kodak Image Magic Copy Print Station. The company is now calling it the Kodak Image Magic Picture Maker, an easier, more logical name for consumers to comprehend, according to Terry McArdle, public relations manager for Kodak.

The Kodak Picture Maker kiosk allows consumers to scan an existing picture, access a digital photo and upload an image from a standard diskette. It can print photos in a combination of sizes, backgrounds and borders.

The Kodak Image Magic Enhancement Station is an addition to the Picture Maker and allows consumers to enhance, restore and share photos.

Currently under development, Kodak exhibited an early version of the enhancement system at PMA last month. Kodak is reconfiguring the kiosk to accommodate Internet access through its newest investment, PhotoNet Online.

Fujifilm's Aladdin Digital Picture Maker offers consumers similar options, but according to Joe Welch, director of digital imaging systems, he system has one advantage br retailers: It offers remote diagnostics and operations, allowing retailers to operate he system and make upgrades from a central machine.

Polaroid's Make A Print digital imaging station boasts ease-of-use and sourcing options.

But the real difference in photo kiosks will be in the serrices offered by the different manufacturers, according to William Ghormley, managing director of special markets, photo retailing and education for Polaroid.

According to Ghormley, no single company can boast of truly unique options. Price, size and features remain fairly standard across the board. Any differentiation claims are shortlived as suppliers compete.

Individual systems are operated differently from chain to chain and even from store to store. Some allow customers to operate the kiosks themselves, while others require employee assistance.

"In terms of content, the fun stuff is yet to come," Ghormley added.