Small is new big

Consumers often walk into a mall with a long shopping list and with only a couple of minutes to spare, and in many cases, the simplest answer is to head to the nearest kiosk and complete the task at hand without much fuss. Kiosks, which are often just 7 feet by 3 feet, have been present at key road junctions, tourist locations, and metro stations for several years, but are also increasingly being opened at malls.

The reason – rentals are lower vis-à-vis conventional outlets at malls, and they can also be opened for a limited duration, without blocking too much working capital of the retailer. Apart from that, kiosks are ideally suited for seasonal businesses, like offering a particular fruit and allied products, and those related to the festival season. And, it is no surprise that kiosks offer products in diverse categories, ranging from cosmetics and jewellery, and meet the needs of both high-end as well budget conscious shoppers.

Benu Sehgal, VP-Mall Management, DLF Place, Saket, highlighted that kiosks offer products that are not available in other stores or not viable to be sold at a conventional store in a mall. In addition, kiosks address the seasonal needs of consumers, and Sehgal, describes these outlets as akin to ‘casual’ licensing, and they also help to increase footfalls at malls.

Yogeshwar Sharma, COO, Select Infrastructure, which has promoted Select Citywalk, said, “We have received requests from leading global mobile makers to open kiosks at our shopping centres, and it would be in addition to regular outlets operated at our facilities.”

Getting started

The USP of a kiosk is the ability of a retailer to combine unmet consumer needs and a suitable location. And, with leading malls in metros that attract footfalls in excess of 10, 000 per day, along with being the preferred destination for the family during weekends, they are being increasingly preferred over high street locations. 

Analysts tracking the sector point out the product offerings of a kiosk should not be in direct competition with regular outlets in its vicinity in a mall, but at the same time should be able to quickly carve their niche. Dr Prodipta Sen, Executive Director, Alphaone Mall, said, “Malls need to have the right mix of tenants including kiosks, and they should help to attract footfalls in parts of a mall which are not very popular with shoppers.”

Retailers typically have to pay monthly rentals of Rs 2,000 – 6,000 per sq in leading malls in metro cities and it depends on a number of factors including location in the mall. Several malls also work on a part cash and part barter model with regard to their rentals.  Kiosks located on the ground floor often have the highest rent, coupled with those near food courts and related areas with high footfalls.

 The startup cost of a kiosk depends upon the merchandise offered, and an outlet related to gems and jewellery would require substantially more investment as compared to one catering for food and allied items.  Ashwin, proprietor, Sunny Side Up, said, “I opted for a kiosk at Select Citywalk as the total rental costs are lower vis-à-vis conventional outlets at this mall, and I can also reach high-end consumers visiting this mall.”

Adds, Ridhima Kansal, proprietor, Roosemoore, said, “Fragrances are often purchased on a split second decision and kiosks are an ideal business model to operate with.”

Designing a kiosk

Kiosks in malls are in different sizes and its design depends on the product category offered, coupled with the target audience for an outlet. Store design experts also point out that the layout of a kiosk should permit ease in customer engagement, along with reflecting the core personality of a brand and enable a retailer to deal with a large number of customers at a time. Vijay Joshi, VP and Country Head, Express KCS, a kiosk designing firm, said, “Layout of a kiosk should reflect the core personality of a brand, and facilitate impulse buying.”

Malls also have a zoning policy in their malls, and developers highlight that kiosks help to add to the ‘novelty’ factor at their centres, as well as enable  utilisation of spaces which would have otherwise remained empty.  Vishal Gupta, General Manager – Leasing, Pioneer Property Zone, said, “Kiosks help to create additional revenues for a mall and also facilitate optimum utilisation of space.”

Clearly, kiosks are an ideal way to reach high-end consumers at lower operating costs and the popularity of this model has encouraged a range of entrepreneurs to successfully leverage this store format.