history of kiosks
A brief history
of self-service
Self-service kiosks and self-service in general started with hopes for better time & cost-efficiency
By Advanced Kiosks , www . advancedkiosks . com
Letting the customer do things for themselves helps with efficiency , and gives them control to get things done on their own terms . Whether the self-service provides directions , information , check-in services , registration , or a purchase transaction , people just tend to prefer self-service options .
We know that self-service kiosks exist , but where did the idea of self-service even come from ? Self-service was first introduced in the 1880 ’ s with the invention of the vending machine . At this point it was a small stand or contraption that offered small products like postcards , chewing gum and stamps . A customer could take a product after placing money into the kiosk , and this was the first time a customer was able to purchase a product without the help of a vendor . The first catalogues were invented around this time as well . This gave customers the time to look over products and figure out their options to make a calculated purchasing decision .
In 1947 , petrol pumps in the United States became self-service for the first time , which obviously allowed people to pump their own fuel . This decreased the time it took to refuel their car and saved customers money . New Jersey and Oregon are the only two states in the country that don ’ t have self-service petrol stations .
The 1960s sparked the call centre , and that later birthed the idea of IVR . The first ATM was open for business on 2nd September 1969 . ( IVR ) Interactive voice response was developed in the mid 70s as the first automated support . And in 1992 , Price Chopper released the first self-checkout kiosk , which , as we know from the past have been a little frustrating . However , they ’ ve improved monumentally since the 90 ’ s , as most technology has .
In the mid to late 90 ’ s , online shopping started through Amazon and Ebay .
This was what essentially sparked the revolution of Internet shopping with as much as 70 % of Americans now shopping regularly online . As the need for self-service increases , the need for more innovative technology does too . The first interactive kiosk , as we know them today , was developed in 1977 by Murray Lappe . He was a pre-med student at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and called it The Plato Hotline ; it was used for informational purposes at the university .
The first public kiosk initiative was developed in 2007 , which provided public access to a new form of self-service technology . Self-service is a foreverexpanding concept that can create solutions that save time , cost , and energy for the consumer , employee , and employer . Most importantly , it serves the people by letting the people serve themselves . n
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