Crafting is big business, with many people choosing to craft as their main hobby in one form a or another. Not only are their numerous websites and books showing you things to make and places to buy your supplies, but there are also craft fairs and exhibitions. In a resent online survey hosted by smartgirl.org, it showed that Arts and Craft were the forth most favoured hobby out of 12 listed pastimes with girls aged between 9 to 21; showing that crafting is a growing sector in the hobbyist market place.

On the Worldwide Web there are many websites offering inspiration to crafters of what and how to make things. Whilst these sites dray lots of traffic in terms of visitors, their conversion is much lower. This is because visitors either want to start the project as soon as possible, and buy their material in a shop is quicker then buying online and waiting for them to be delivered. Or because visitors enjoy buying from their ‘usual’ or trusted craft suppliers, whom they believe may be cheaper than buying online.

Of course crafters sometimes have ideas of their own of things to make, whilst others needs ideas to be given to them, or they need to be given the information of how to achieve what they are wanting to make. Kiosks can offer a solution to offering inspirational information to crafters in store.

Asda have lead the way with in store digital marketing, with large screens running adverts of selected products. The products in the videos are always on a shelf below the screens. The screens, which combine video with audio, grab the consumer’s attention and sell to them. In a similar way a multimedia kiosk could sell to crafters in store.

Crafting kiosks and digital displays can offer craft retail shops a couple of solutions for advertising products in store.

Crafting Digital Display
This would work on a very similar principle to the Adsa digital signs. However, instead of running a loop of adverts, the display would show a series of mini videos of crafting projects. The videos should be step by step (Blue Peter like) presentations, showing the consumer exactly how to create the item. The materials for making the crafts displayed should be on the shelves below, don’t expect the customer to trail around the shop looking for the material. The key is that you make the craft project as simple to begin as possible.

The crafting digital signs work on a few levels, they give first time store visitors a new experience and show them what they could be making. It also gives them incentive to visit again, to watch demonstrations of new craft projects.

For the returning visitor, they can provide a week by week crafting idea. This will encourage repeat visits because shoppers will want to watch the next series of crafting projects.

Crafting Digital Display can be movement activated so that the adverts start when the customer is ready to view so that they don’t miss the beginning.

Crafting Kiosks
The crafting kiosk is an information database of craft projects, which the user can search and browse. The multimedia kiosk can also show the user video demonstrations as well as accompanying text instructions. When the user has found a craft project, they can email themselves the instructions and video of how to make it from the kiosk.

The kiosk can also print out a Crafting Shopping List containing all the materials needed to complete the project.

The user can also use the personal shopper functionality whereby the user can ask the kiosk to do the shopping for this craft for them. The user click the personal shopper button on their chosen crafts project, and they are taken to a checkout and payment page, where the kiosk takes payment for the goods. The kiosk sends a message to a print out machine containing the Crafting Shopping List, a member of staff can then order pick the items and take them to the till. The customer then collects the bag of materials from the counter providing simple craft shopping for the crafter.

Whilst the kiosk is not being used by a customer, it behaves like a digital sign showing the most popular crafting projects. This not only advertises to passers by but also draw attention to it and invites shoppers to access its information.

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