How self-service technology and AI-powered kiosks are reshaping customer experiences and retail roles

The Rise of Smart Retail in India Starts with Self-Service

India’s tech-savvy consumers have a growing appetite for efficiency and are positioned to change self-service at scale through smart retail automation solutions. The numbers speak for themselves, according to a study by Imarc, India’s interactive kiosk market is projected to grow with a CAGR of 16.61% from 2025 to 2033* with the demand for automated shopping technologies while offering a seamless customer experience.

AI-powered retail kiosk solutions are the solution in helping reduce queues, enhance efficiency, free up more time for staff to do more important tasks, and improve accuracy in orders. Global grocery retail brands have already demonstrated how AI-powered retail kiosk solutions have changed their customer experiences. India’s golden opportunity is not just about catching up to those who have adopted smart retail automation solutions, what if it’s about leading the next wave? Imagine the near future wherein all retail stores are leveraging interactive kiosks to deliver world-class customer experiences.

Interactive Kiosks: India’s Gateway to Smart Customer Experiences

Customers today look for unique experiences beyond just the basic transactions when in a retail store. Imagine a virtual concierge with multilingual features which can guide shoppers to the stores they are looking for, suggest new promos without the need of app downloads or waiting. Another example is how an AI-driven kiosk in a Delhi supermarket can analyse a shoppers’ purchase history and recommend related items or recipes to upsell any complementary products.

Scala’s tailored virtual concierge solutions can already make these examples a reality by merging smart powered retail kiosk solutions with features such as live video calls to customer support agents, wayfinding, appointment bookings, and more. These help bridge the gap between a human-centric service and digital convenience.

A Unique Opportunity: Why India Must Lead, Not Follow

As India’s retail landscape will continue to grow, it is the perfect opportunity to implement smart retail automation solutions to avoid challenges such as over-manned counters or frustrated customers trying to navigate large malls. Self-service kiosk trends in retail can transform the customer experience and turn it into opportunities to build a smarter nation.

• Reduce congestion: Self-service kiosks trends in retail can significantly cut wait times in pilot deployments..
• Upskill, don’t replace: Employees can focus on customer engagement and technical roles while retail kiosks handle the rest of the tasks. .
• Scale sustainably: India has a growing population of over 1.4 billion and it needs solutions that work equally well in Mumbai high streets and Tier-3 town markets.

When businesses prioritise automated shopping technology, India benefits from job opportunities in data analytics, UX design, and system maintenance to empower more of the youth to lead the digital economy.

What World-Class Self-Checkout Looks Like – and Why India Deserves It

How can self-checkout significantly improve the customer experience? Here are 5 essentials in pillars of trust, convenience, and scale for world-class self-checkout experiences and why India deserves this type of elevated customer service.

• User-Friendly UI/UX: Smart retail automation solutions should have user-friendly interfaces that will not intimidate first-time users and will look approachable.
• Quick Scan + Smart Bagging: Implementing an AI-driven product sensor can help reduce errors and make transactions quicker for the convenience of both the customer and staff.
• Omnichannel Payments: Allowing several payment methods such as UPI, wallets, and NFC integrations tailored to Indian preferences can help quicken the decision to purchase and allow flexibility in terms of payments.
• Real-Time Staff Support: Smart retail kiosk solutions can also work with the staff in a seamless handoff experience from kiosk to human agents for any complex situations.
• Fraud Prevention: Aside from lowering the risk of fraud with advanced computer vision that can deter theft without the risk of slowing down service.

Global QSR brands are living proof that implementing smart retail automation solutions in India, can reassign staff into roles that enhance overall customer satisfaction. The result of this? Businesses can have faster service, higher order values, and a workforce skilled in tech-enabled hospitality.

Software is the Secret Ingredient – Not Just Screens

At the heart of every self-service kiosk is reliable and powerful software. The ability to manage content centrally, personalise, integrate with loyalty platforms, and deliver real-time analytics is what separates a regular kiosk from a powerful and engaging tool. Scala’s software stack makes generic hardware into strategic and powerful assets by enabling:

Personalisation: A built-in machine learning system can tailor promotions to customers based on their past purchases. This generates upselling opportunities for a boost in sales.

Centralised Control: Users can keep content updated wherever they are. Scala’s content management system allows businesses to manage and update kiosks nationwide from a single dashboard.

Integration: Scala’s software can sync with most inventory systems, loyalty programs, and IoT devices.

As Scala’s APAC R&D lead Tahir Imran notes, “Your kiosk should know your customer better with every interaction.” This isn’t fantasy, but it’s exactly what happens when AI-powered retail kiosk solutions learn and adapt in real-time.

Redefining Employment: From Manual to Meaningful

The tools we have today such as automation is not about replacing the current jobs but it’s about elevating roles. The ability to automate routine tasks through kiosks for retail, helps free up talent for analytics, content strategy, and customer engagement. The future belongs to those who can interpret data, design experiences, and keep systems running smoothly-not just scan barcodes.

Data Analysts: An in demand job with the rise of technology are data analysts to help interpret the data consisting of customer behaviour insights collected from interaction with a smart retail kiosk.

Content Strategists: Visually enticing content is crucial in the effectiveness of self-service kiosks and getting experts to create and designing dynamic promotions for digital display can lead to better results.

Tech Support Specialists: As the self-service kiosk will continue to populate in the coming months, there will be demand for tech support specialists to help in maintaining advanced kiosk networks.

As I see this growth in the self-service kiosk and the multitude of jobs it can create, a trained graduate should not be asked to scan items at a checkout counter. We aren’t just wasting human potential, we’re missing the chance to redirect talents toward analytics, automation, and digital customer engagement. That shift begins with intelligent self-service systems.

Benefits That Go Beyond the Bottom Line

Aside from the benefits already mentioned above, the table below shows not just operational wins, but why self-service kiosks in retail are crucial for India’s retail renaissance.

India’s Retail Future Won’t Wait

The aggressive market in India’s retail space is already taking shape with self-service kiosk trends. India now has the chance to set new benchmarks for how smart automation solutions are being implemented across different retail environments.

At Scala, we are partnering with forward-thinking retailers to implement AI-powered retail kiosk solutions that deliver faster service times in pilot projects, higher upsell rates through personalised prompts, reduction in staffing costs for routine tasks.

As digital-first consumers demand faster, frictionless experiences, and businesses look to scale sustainably, kiosk innovation stands out as a strategic enabler. Powered by Scala’s intelligent software, these self-service solutions can streamline operations, reduce congestion, and elevate customer satisfaction. All while unlocking more meaningful, skilled opportunities for the growing workforce. At Scala, we believe India has the potential not just to adopt self-service technology, but to set new benchmarks for how it’s implemented across diverse retail, QSR, and public service environments. The next wave of retail innovation is here, and India is ready to lead it.

Have thoughts or questions on kiosk innovation in India? I’m open to a conversation. Reach out to me directly, I’d be happy to exchange ideas or walk you through Scala’s approach to self-service transformation.

Watch out for my next blog, as I dive deeper into the kiosk innovation happening in Government & Corporate Houses, and how it’s already changing visitor experiences.

About the Author:

Jasdeep Kohli, Vice President Marketing – APAC at STRATACACHE/SCALA, leads the spectrum of marketing initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region, which include, product marketing, brand, events, business planning, communications and market research. With extensive cross-disciplinary expertise in marketing, branding and management, he has been a key driver in raising the brand visibility and elevating the market leadership of STRATACACHE & SCALA in APAC. His passion for retail marketing and customer experience drives him to develop innovative and customer-focused approaches to business opportunities.

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