How to Turn an iPad into a Coupon Kiosk

Couponing is still a fantastic way to find new customers and build loyalty in your old ones, and iPads mounted as couponing kiosks throughout your store make couponing easy and engaging for shoppers. From a kiosk, customers can download and print digital coupons and access deals offered both online and through circulars, plus they can find handy product information like store location and new product suggestions.

Apps aren’t always downloaded, and customers forget their clippings, but an in-aisle kiosk is always ready and available to turn your most frugal shoppers into your most loyal ones.

1. Determine your couponing strategy

Couponing, both physical and digital, can raise brand awareness and entice shoppers who might have never tried your store or products. You can get a good overview of how to build a strong digital couponing strategy here, but don’t forget that loyalty cards and physical coupons can and should be part of the overall couponing strategy.

Programs like CVS’s Extracare Card that offer personalized, specific deals based on purchase history are a great touch-point for engaging customers, especially when savings can be accessed at kiosks conveniently located throughout the store. Even coupons cut from weekly circulars can be enhanced when scanned at kiosk points, giving customers product and deal information as well as providing the product’s location in the store and inventory availability.

2. Choose the right hardware

Any form of coupon, whether accessed via a card, cut from a weekly circular, printed from online or displayed on a customer’s phone, can be a powerful selling tool when scanned quickly and conveniently at a kiosk. The right hardware to transform iPads into couponing kiosks should offer advanced scanning technology that harnesses the iPad’s native camera and uses it to scan any surface or image accurately and hassle-free, every time.

Sleek, attractive design that complements your store’s brand is also important. Look for devices that avoid bulky, ad-hoc scanners or extra wires and cords for charging or ethernet connectivity. Subpar scanning is frustrating for customers, and bulky hardware looks dated and clunky; look for kiosk hardware that will engage your customers and boost your brand image. (Check out our Interactive Kiosk for an example.)

3. Mount in key traffic-flow locations

You probably don’t need a heat map to judge your store’s traffic flow hot-spots, but do take some time to observe how customers interact with your displays, and which ones seem to draw the most shoppers. Kiosks are most effective at store entrances and other greeting points as well as at specialty areas, like deli and makeup counters.

The right hardware will have versatile mounting options, so you can find the right fit for your display or aisle. Hardware companies usually offer both in-aisle and free-standing mounting options, so think about these options as you envision the right mount(s) for your store.