A Guide to Renting a Kiosk in a Shopping Centre

Touch screen kiosks have been around for a few years now, but recently their popularity has exploded, with more and more businesses deciding to invest in the technology to help increase their customer satisfaction, and in turn increase their sales.
One of the more popular places to put a kiosk is inside a shopping mall. This is an especially good decision for a small business, particularly if they have only recently opened. Renting a kiosk is so much cheaper than renting an entire store, for more than just the obvious reasons.
For a start, a kiosk takes up much less room and uses much less energy, meaning your monthly outgoings on overheads will come right down. Another reason is that a kiosk is self-manned – you don’t need to hire any staff or spend your own precious time behind the till; the kiosk does it all for you.
There are even more advantages to using a kiosk, touch screen or not, so what are you waiting for? Here’s an easy guide to renting one yourself.
Do Your Research
Find your local shopping mall and start researching the shopping trends. If you are going to rent kiosk space there, you’ll want to make sure there is a steady flow of human traffic the majority of the time; how are you going to turn a profit without potential customers walking by?
If your local has a lower amount of foot traffic, you don’t want your kiosk going there – it’s that simple.
Look at Locations
If you’ve found a suitable shopping centre, the next thing you have to do is start looking at locations for your kiosk. For a kiosk to be successful, you need to carefully consider where you’re going to place it.
You want somewhere with fairly constant traffic flow, preferably near some popular shops. Kiosks placed in the back end of the mall next to the two empty pods, the closed GameStation and the 99p Store aren’t likely to attract the big bucks.
Plan Your Business
It’s probably wise to assume you already know which services or products your kiosk will be selling, so make sure you feel it’ll fit in well at the mall. Speak to the shopping centre’s manager to let them know your plans – give them financial details to prove that it’s viable and that you can afford the rent.
Ask the management lots of questions; prepare these in advance. Ask about rent, fees, insurance, location and if anything is provided for you, as well as any other enquiries you might have. It would be wise to find out how much the deposit will set you back.
Lease and Permits
Once you’ve got hold of the lease from the management, it is time to double check that you have all of the required business permits. You will probably need a sales tax permit, which states that you will charge sales tax on any items bought from your kiosk. You may also need your National Insurance number. Ask the management if you’re unsure what you’re required to get.