September, 2009, London - HMV, the UK and Ireland's leading specialist retailer of music, DVD/video, computer games and related products, has introduced self-service kiosks into its stores to improve the overall customer experience in a deal with YESpay, a global payments services company, and its partner Neo Products UK Ltd, a specialist in touchscreen kiosks.
Customers will be able to use the kiosks to locate stock, view sample clips as well as ordering content for home delivery. They can also download MP3 tracks for immediate take away on a media or a storage device.
Following a successful trial, the retailer is planning to rollout trasnactions kiosks throughout its entire store network.
YESpay's EMBOSS Chip & PIN payment service integrates with the self-service kiosks, enabling faster, easier and more secure payments.
Dave Elston, Ecommerce Manager at HMV, said, "The technology accepts all UK credit and debit cards, allowing prompt payment and delivery of goods securely. With customer demands increasing and people wanting to buy music in new ways it's important to ensure that with new shopping methods, payments are met securely."
Dave Elston continued, "This technology will allow us to offer customers a means of ordering and paying for products that were either not available in store or by offering easy payment for audio downloads. Eventually the aim is to roll-out further to all stores, gradually increasing the quantity of kiosks in any given store. We saw over 27,000 product searches conducted over the Christmas period, which we believe have contributed towards physical product sales in stores."
Stuart Kitching, Account Manager at YESpay International, commented, "Our work with HMV is a perfect example of how electronic payments can be exploited to interact and engage with customers in new ways. These kiosks are also an innovative way of allowing customers to listen to music before they choose to make a purchase."
Carey Liddy, Project Manager at Neo Products, YESpay's partner company, added, "Self-service kiosks present an opportunity for retailers to engage with potential and existing customers differently in a way that can ultimately improve a retailer's long term performance."
PR Contact:
Kiranmai Bavirisetti
Tel: +44 (0)871 221 9510 ext 225
kiranmai.bavirisetti@yes-pay.com
www.yes-pay.com
About HMV UK and Ireland
Entertainment retailer HMV is the UK & Ireland's leading music, film and games specialist - offering the widest selection of titles and products across all genres, formats and channels through over 270 shops nationwide and online and as downloadable mp3 content via hmv.com.
HMV also caters to a growing demand for personal and home technology products, such as iPods and other portable digital devices, and popular culture products ranging from books and licensed products to artist merchandising and other 'cool stuff'.
HMV has, in recent years, implemented a number of key initiatives as part of an ongoing strategic plan. These include a 'next generation' store concept, which brings together 'physical' and 'digital' content in an engaging retail environment; the review of the HMV brand and introduction of the 'get closer' identity - a distillation of the company's vision that 'no-one gets you closer to the music, films and games you love'; significant investment in HMV's online and mp3 downloads offer via hmv.com; the ongoing development of a social network site 'getcloser.com'; and the launch of purehmv - a unique scheme offering HMV customers access to 'money-can't-buy' rewards.
In December 2008 HMV acquired gamerbase.com - a pay-to-play online gaming concept, and more recently, in January 2009, made a significant entry into 'live' music by partnering with MAMA Group through a joint venture to acquire eleven concert venues, including the renamed HMV Hammersmith Apollo. In April 2009 HMV announced that it was partnering with independent film distributors Curzon Artificial Eye to bring a new cinema experience to the high street - hmvcurzon will be trailed at its London, Wimbledon store from Autumn 2009. Most recently, in May 2009, HMV has signed a deal with Orange to open up to 100 of the mobile operator's concession outlets in HMV stores., and have just acquitted 50% of the digital services provider, 7digital.
Enquiries
HMV Press & PR
020 7432 2033
www.hmv.com
About YESpay
YESpay is a global payments services company providing highly secure and scalable EMV Chip & PIN, contactless and magnetic credit / debit card, e-commerce and gift card payment processing services to independent and multi-chain merchants. It provides outsourced management payment services anywhere in the world to traditional high street stores, hospitality, leisure, fuel, mail order and web environments.
Through EMBOSSTM, its Gateway to Managed Payment Services, merchants can quickly accept integrated card payments within their EPOS tills, kiosks, and hospitality payment systems as well as enhance their websites for on-line payments with minimal capital investment and low on-going services costs. EMBOSS is an on-line IP-based payment processing service that has been pre-accredited (generically) by major card Acquirers in Europe and North America (including Barclaycard Business, HSBC, HBOS, Lloyds Cardnet, Streamline, Ulster Bank, Elavon, PBS, Amex and Diners). In addition, YESpay's EMBOSS service is fully end to end certified to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) Level 1 as mandated by Visa and MasterCard.
YESpay's EasyV-Suite of card payment products are innovative and cost-effective solutions for EPOS, Kiosk, Hospitality, Mobile and Internet Websites that combine with the YESpay hosted EMBOSS payment service to enable their merchants to perform credit or debit card payments in both card-present and card-not-present environments.
www.yes-pay.com
About NeoProducts Group
The company was established in Melbourne in 1987 and quickly established a reputation for robust, effective and reliable interactive solutions. It won large contracts with the Australian public employment service to supply job search kiosks. This system became a model for governments around the world, and in 2000, NeoProducts established a second manufacturing base in the UK to supply job search kiosks to the UK and Irish governments.
NeoProducts has since expanded into many other markets. It is now a leading supplier of digital photo kiosks and NeoProducts is at the forefront in many other areas of public access technology. Recently, the company has added custom-designed kiosk software to its portfolio - making NeoProducts a one-stop-shop for kiosk solutions.
www.neoproductsgroup.com
