Kiosks an efficient off-media strategy ?

Apple’s retail strategy has inspired other major manufacturers of
consumer electronics equipment and it is likely that we will see this
more LG, Sony, Samsung, Dell stores pop-up in shopping malls or in other
strategic locations around the world.

                           source:Sony 

However, unlike Apple’s branded shops, these stores or kiosks are often
more marketing than commercial ventures.
The motives are clear: most of these CE companies already have
significant online sales, and want fresh fields for expansion. They can
provide a richer and more customized experience for shoppers than the
major retail chains can. They can control and protect their brands.

When LG launched a year ago it’s own LG branded kiosks in major French
shopping malls (about 50 kiosks to spread across the French territory),
they intended to provide better customer experience of their product
prior purchase though standard retail channel. These kiosks, kind of
permanent show-rooms, aimed to “pre-sell” products in an environment
where customer were minutes aways from real stores, where they could
purchase LG products once convinced.

                        Source:mobilesachat.fr

Dell also tested this path with more than 160 kiosks in major US Malls
and airports. The goal was to let customer touch, experience the product
before purchasing it on-line (no products were stocked in kiosks
although the customer had the possibility to order the product through
the Dell website).

RNB Analysis:
Manufacturer-owned outlets represent permanent cost centers, and must
perform well over the year. It is likely that if these outlets don’t
allow customers to directly buy products, measuring the ROI of such marketing venture will not be that easy. As the economy contracts and
competition gets fierce, manufacturers will probably get more aggressive and use their kiosks to relay more promotional activities and monitor with less patience their impact on the bottom line.