Mall kiosk

A retail kiosk (also referred to as a mall kiosk or retail merchandising unit, RMU) is a

customers approaching the vendor across a counter

.

History

The first mall kiosk opened in

proprietors and shopping mall design space has become more sophisticated, the model of mall income

generation has been adapted to suit, with kiosks evolving to accommodate this transition.

They are considered as part of the

entrepreneurs.^[3] Leases or rents are often monthly, but may range in length from a weekend to a year.^[2] The short leases allow larger retailers to test the market temporarily before committing to a location,^[3] and lower costs for new business owners.^[2]

Design and functionality

These units are best exemplified by jewelry-style cases forming a variable size

concession stands

").

Modern functionalities such as lighting, wireless payment, and seamless aesthetics have developed the kiosk model from a standard wooden cart into a sub-section of the mall commercialization model, referred to as "in-line retail".

The industry term for smaller units is RMU (retail merchandising unit). These smaller units were created to avoid

contractual "kiosk" exclusions and local fire codes

requiring greater distance between units by placing them on wheels.

Leasing

Most commonly, mall proprietors and operators of

commercial real estate

make kiosks available for short-term lease to mall retailers. In the UK, leases are largely available on three-month rolling contracts, often through commercialization specialists who broker the rental lease on behalf of the landlord of the space and/or the kiosk.

Alternatively, kiosks can be operated under longer leases of up to ten years. Some consider this more appropriate due to the expense of the kiosk (which often starts at US$20,000 and is capable of exceeding US$100,000).

Licensing

RMUs are usually supplied by the property owner and licensed rather than leased, with much looser language allowing the property owner to revoke operational rights overnight or relocate the unit within the center upon notice. Kiosks are also available under the same conditions and may even be supplied by the property owner when they have been abandoned by former tenants; occasionally these units are built specific to a property and supplied by the property owner.^[citation needed]

Rents vary by market conditions and mall traffic. Holiday rents are generally term rents that encompass both November and December with a combined sales breakpoint for the holiday term on short-term agreements or annual sales breakpoints on permanent agreements. Property owners benefit from this rent structure by capturing all rent prior to the peak sales period, yet soften the full impact of what is a very unbalanced sales window by splitting the considerable rent increases into a two-month period. It is generally possible to rent spaces for a month or even a weekend, but most businesses would not be able to turn a profit in such a short period.^{[citation needed]}

The costs of running a kiosk vary by season (with rents ranging from US$4000 and up per month during the holiday season, depending on the locations), and license agreements are short and usually renewed every month up to one year. The rent during the winter holiday season usually is the highest.^[3] Startup costs are lower because the smaller space requires less product to fill.^[3] Retailers also have the option of changing products with the season or to match trends.^[2]