Article

2023 Kiosk Marketplace Census: Post-pandemic recovery delivers 2nd consecutive growth year in 2022

Growth in 2022 was driven by a convergence of rising consumer acceptance of self service, a recovering supply chain, a growing labor shortage, improving technology and the return of industry trade shows.

Image credit: Kiosk Marketplace.

March 15, 2023 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

2022 was a year of growth for much of the U.S. economy as it continued its post-pandemic recovery. For the self-serve kiosk industry, 2022 marked the second consecutive year of double-digit sales growth as consumers continued their post-pandemic shopping habits.

In 2022, the post-pandemic recovery that began in late 2020 continued to gain momentum, bringing a 20% gain in global sales of interactive kiosks for a total $14.52 billion, not counting ATMs and refreshment vending machines, according to the 2023 Kiosk Marketplace Census.

The Census, now in its sixth year, provides statistics on the self-serve kiosk industry's size, operating metrics and outlook. It holds the distinction of offering statistical information generated from both user organizations and suppliers of self-serve kiosks. Where most kiosk industry market reports mainly offer supplier-provided information, much of the Kiosk Marketplace Census information is provided by user organizations.

The growth in 2022 was driven by a convergence of factors: rising consumer acceptance of self service, a recovering supply chain, a growing labor shortage, improving technology and the return of industry trade shows.

The 66-page report includes 48 charts and is divided into five industry segments:

User organizations that host kiosks (retailers, consumer brands, governments, restaurants, gaming establishments and transportation services).
Kiosk hardware manufacturers.
Kiosk software manufacturers.
Kiosk value-added resellers.
Kiosk component manufacturers.

Most of the data in the report is based on online questionnaires filled out by Kiosk Marketplace readers in November and December of 2022. Readers provided information about their number of installations, business mix, operating costs, return on investment, plans for future deployments, investment in research and development, sales methodology, kiosk content strategy, outlook on technology, level of optimism and expected challenges.

The charts and commentary are based on input from close to 300 completed questionnaires as well as phone and in-person interviews with Kiosk Marketplace readers.

Highlights of the report include:

For the second straight year, consumer acceptance of e-commerce during the pandemic played an important role in supporting the demand for self-serve kiosks, as the consumer tendency to use technology to shop encouraged brands and retailers to expand self-service offerings.
Consumer preference for mobile order and pay continued to grow. The survey once again found "integration with mobile order-and-pay" one of the top-ranked technologies by both kiosk user and supplier organizations.
The labor shortage that took hold during the pandemic continued to encourage retailers and other businesses to install self-serve kiosks.
Supply chain disruptions that hammered the industry during the pandemic improved significantly by the end of 2022.
Many retailers and brands found self-checkout technology a way to extend operating hours with less overhead than a traditional physical storefront. In many instances, retail kiosks intended as temporary measures to serve customers during pandemic closures became permanent.
Self-serve technology continued to evolve and offer new ways to improve the customer experience.
Trade shows returned in 2022 following two dormant years.

The report is available for purchase at the Kiosk Marketplace online store. To order the report, click here.