Retailers, realtors to invest in infotek to woo customers

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

RPG invests 1, 500 cr in expansion plansKerala a golden hub of jewellery retailersReliance to setup 55 stores on home appliancesLuxottica to open more than 100 sunglass stores in...

Retail, real estate majors and state governments are betting big on the self-serve technology in India and are infusing huge funds to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,500 crore in FY ’09 for facilitating this. Reliance Money, which deals with online trading portal, is planning to invest Rs 400 crore in setting up 10,000 ‘Reliance’ branded multimedia kiosks in Reliance Web World, Reliance Fresh, RelianceMart apart from Barista coffee retail chains in the next two years. This is to enable employees as well as lay customers to pay mobile bills, book airline, railway and movie tickets apart from being informed of major events and to be able to click photographs, according to industry experts.

In order to reduce long queues at its outlets, fast-food retail giant McDonald’s India is planning to invest Rs 250 crore to Rs 300 crore in setting up multimedia kiosks within McDonald’s restaurants. This is to enable customers to place orders through touch screen kiosks so that they do not have to wait for long to avail of product delivery. For the purpose, McDonald’s India is currently talking to AGS group’s India Transect to provide a 6 sq ft corner for kiosks within McDonald’s restaurants.

Even petroleum major Hindutan Petroleum is looking to having such kiosks at its outlets. According to Amit Tandon, business head, India Transect Services Private Ltd, “We plan to set up 500 ‘India Transect’ branded multimedia kiosks in 500 Club Hindustan Petroleum outlets at an investment of Rs 50 crore in the next two years. Talks are currently on with retail majors across the country for providing them with multimedia kiosks.”