The shoe retail market fights for years for an improvement of its turnover and result situation. In no other industry branch enterprises are frequented as little as in shoe retailing. Customers notice in principle only 3 branchists: but one does stand for cheap, for one is only little successful and the third has no clear profile. Above all they expect however in the shoe store brands, quality and consultation at fair prices. Against it the future is more optimistic with the comfort shoe specialists, whose turnover ran substantially better than within the appareil stores. For this development the older target groups were mainresponsible, which deplore foot problems to approximately 80 per cent and visit therefore specialists, who can solve their foot problems - however not with old-fashionable granny shoes, but likewise with looking fashionably good shoes. Therefore an extensive service as well as a specialized consultation became inevitable. This recognized very promptly Garant Schuh AG and has opened in the spring 2000 with the shoe store Rheingold in Braunschweig a senior-fair specialist shop. Beside shoe models appropriate for the young-remained „old persons" the store in Braunschweig was characterised by a special shop layout, which was suitable for the well-being feeling of the „Best Ager "- begun by the colors over the lighting up to the floor covering and the seat opportunities. Within the Mass Customization they therefore introduced already at the end of the 90's the project „Shoes for your well-being", which automatically measured the feet by „PEDUD 3D "- foot scanners. The shoe retail trade must give itself in opinion of Verdict Research and 20/20 Design a more modern shop layout in order to be able to hold step with the clothing and appareil trade and not to be displaced by it since these also offer frequently shoes as suitable accessory for the articles of clothing. Shoe stores are often no more than „High Street shops", to which the necessary ambience is missing. New and fresher formats have therefore been introduced recently  by the English shoe retailers Dolcis and Stead & Simpson.

The since February 1998 existing company Creo Interactive Streetware GmbH from Kleve is one of the pioneers of Mass Customization in the shoe retail. Since the periods for selling certain models became ever shorter for the dealers, because trends changed ever more frequently, the past system of production and selling has proved itself as too slow and inflexibel. The customer requires increasingly individuality, constant changes and new incentives. In order to suffer no losses and not to remain sitting on shelf warmers, the retailer concentrates increasingly on „guaranted "brands and „guaranted "colors.  In order to be able to react however flexibly to customer's requests, Creo Interactive set on Mass Customization. Customers could turn out themselves on the Internet site www.creointeractive.com their own shoes: from the distinguished black to wild creations in pink with cow skin. One manufactured only if the customer had ordered. Concretely Creo Interactive solved the concept thereby as the cut of the basis shoe was simple and individualizing was limited mainly to the color selection and in each case a different latch. Naturally one tried to cooperate also with the stationary shoe retailers in Germany; but they had shown however no interest. Different on the other hand was it in the Netherlands: here in shoe shops in Amsterdam and Antwerp Internet terminals have been installed, on which the customers could create themselves and order their individual shoes via the Creo Internet site; shoe samples for trying have also been available in the shops. Considerable sales were however only obtained starting from the spring 2001, when an exclusive co-operation with the Otto-Versand and its Internet shop had been agreed upon.

Already since the end of the 90's FootJoy, with 60 per cent market share the prominent manufacturer of gulf shoes and gulf gloves in the USA, has had deployed a terminal for the selection of the correct shoe. Since for it however operation and support by the sales personnel were necessary, one looked for a solution, which the customer could serve and which one found in a software, that among others had been developed in a 10-year development at the University of Mass. Amherst. So the customer had to sit himself, take off his shoes and place his feet on a certain surface of the foot scanning kiosk system. The scanning of the feet happened then within 15 seconds, on the screen the status was made visible. At the FootJoy Kiosks, which were set up among others in the Edwin Watt Gulf Shop in Orlando, Florida as well as in shops in Sacramento and Austin, customers could search also after other current products; the employees could train themselves at the terminals and inform themselves by using a magnetic card in the data base with product information and - descriptions as well as in the data base with the customer profiles and shoe scan data. This solution has been awarded with the 2002 Kiosk­Com Interactive Kiosk Excellence Award in the category „Best Retail Application".

On similarly way the company Impuls from North Carolina/ USA let analyze the feet of its customers starting from summer 2004. For that the customer placed on the scanner of the Sof Sole FitSys Foot Scanner Kiosk, entered his gender and his shoe size and initialized afterwards the scanning process by manipulation of the trackball and the keyboard. As result the customer received a comprehensive description of his specific foot characteristics and requirements and recommended appropriate products of the own offer, suitable for the customer. Impuls used such kiosk terminals also with marathon races; because straight for such sportsmen, who stand much or run, the correct insert is a basic condition for the well-being issue and the avoidance of blisters. The Sof Sole FitSys Kiosks therefore became often  used councellors also on marathon races.

In November 2005 also Reebok International began with first letting customers develop their Reebok shoes in the Internet and afterwards let him send the shoes within 10 days at home. At first the  Reebok models „Classic Leather" und „Su­per­court" could be designed individually according to own desires. In June 2006 the model „The DJ" followed as the third shoe . The customer could select from hundreds of color proposals, turn the model around 360 degrees, in order to regard it from all sides and to determine, how the model looks also under jeans. Furthermore there were some links to so-called „Hot Picks "for inspiration, thus examples of models, which other customers had sketched other customers. Although Reebok had not particularly applied the website http://www.rbkcustom.com, it was visited daily of more as 3,000 visitors and even suggested in April 2006 as best retail website in the context of the "Webby Awards 2006" by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Finally end of the yearly 2006 Reebok has set up „Rbkcustom Video Kiosks" also in its Concept Stores, so that one could configure oneself individual shoes also in the Reebok stores.

Since summer 2007 also the Galeria Kaufhof offers biomechanical „motionQube " terminals first in the sport department in the flagship store in Berlin at the Alexanderplatz and in Hanover at the Ernst-August-Platz and in the meantime in most other Galeria Kaufhof stores. With them the movements of runners and walkers are analyzed in less than five minutes.  On the basis  of a foot and leg position analysis as well as the consideration of weight, age and extensibility a completely functional-orthopedic profile are provided and brand-independent recommendations given  for suitable sport shoes and inserts out of a large data base, in which all 22 sport shoe manufacturers are neutrally evaluated. For this purpose the customer places itself barefoot on the device, so that the feet can be scanned for an automatic type determination. Afterwards the static leg axle are seized, the rotation position of the foot longitudinal axis determined, the muscular flexibility of the leap joint tested, the knee rotation defuined, the hip's stability conztrolled and the foot pressure fixed  For the leg axle measurement the inserted video camera notes the knee position; the sport-scientific algorithm calculated then the unroll behavior of the foot and suggests precise solutions. A further function is the immediate injury management. Over 30 per cent of all runners injure themselves at least once per season by overload. The "digital doctor" describes the complaint pictures of the most frequent run injuries and suggests directly preventive actions. Additionally all reports as well as a personal workout plan with individual stretching and strengthening exercises can be printed over the integrated printer. Similar terminals are also successfully deployed at  Nike Stores and Sports World Stores in England. Furthermore this system is used prominent sport shoe manufacturers such as Nike, Mizuno and New Balance worldwide at marathon fairs. In the meantime it gave some similar terminal developments, as e.g. of Schering-Plough Corp. or the Virtual Fit (VFit)-Kiosks of StacoSwitch resp. FormaLogix.

Naturally also Nike gave the possibility to its customers to design themselves interactively their Nike shoes. Starting from November 1999 they could get under the label „Nike ID" their completely personal shoe in the Internet within the Mass Customization strategy. Lateron this program has been enhanced by kiosk terminals in the NikeTown Stores as well in the  NIKEgoddess Stores in the USA and also in England, at which the customers could individualize not only shoes, but also clocks, backpacks and accessories. Also visitors at the French Open 2003 in Paris could do this at special „Nike ID" kiosk ­terminals. At the end of October 2004 it has been showed on the Digital Retailing Conference in San Francisco, how helpful the usage of RFID in the shoe stores could be for the customers: if e.g. the customer takes a Nike shoe from the shelf, he keeps indicated valuable information about the shoe on the screen; in addition he can call up interactively further imprtant information. If he resets it again in the shelf, a video with information about Nike and/or other products starts. Naturally also Nike used the successes of Digital Signage: like that one of the most spectacular and large attention exciting actions in the year 2006 has been the electronic poster wall of Nike, which - in the context of the Nike ID program -  made it possible for the passers-by to design  their own sport shoes with their mobile phone and to let show it to them on the enormous display, which extended over 23 floors of the building of Reuters at the New Yorker Times Square. Subsequently they got a SMS with a link, over which they could also buy the shoe. This campaign corresponded fully to the basic rules of the Future Communication, which merges the real with the virtual world, which networks the media out-of-home and mobile devices, which concentrates on User Centered Mar­ke­ting as well as individualisation via Mass Customization and which is in the long run extremely attention strong due to the oversize screen. In the Londoner NikeTown flagship store as well as in further British Nike Stores, in which football shoes of well-known football star are sold, customers can download the current Nike advertising campaign with the football stars such as Henry, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rooney by Bluetooth on their mobile phone. To each player there additionally exists an own sales area; if the customer is in one of these areas, an animated wallpaper is offered to him from the so-called „Bluetooth Data Gas Station".The new, in October 2007 opened NikeID Studio in New York as well as the following NikeID Studios in Paris, Osaka and even in Peking, in addition, the NikeTown Store in London let the passers-by design their shoes and other Nike products already at the interactive shop window on the road in front of many other passers-by, they can also send by email their developed products to friends or to their PC at home and/or can buy them inside in the shop. The touchscreen in the shop window indicates designs of shoes, which were made of customers from the whole world within the last hour - with indication of the names of the customers, the country and the creation time. A limited selection of the customer creations can be bought during the year in the NikeTown stores also by other customers. Also the "motionQube" terminals, deployed in the Galeria Kaufhof stores, can befound in the NikeTown Stores as Nike „Running Stations"to find with the same functions - like e.g. foot and leg position analysis, orthopedic profile, personal workout plan with individual stretching and strengthening exercises as well as recommendations for the suitable running shoe.

Beside kiosk terminals in the clothing sector naturally also the adidas AG has deployed terminals in the shoe departments. Already at the beginning of 2002 adidas adidas made possible tha Mass Customization of football and of run shoes, using foot scanners. These data and further design desires were passed on to the factories. The program covered all possible combinations of 40 foot types as well as various models, leather types and colors. In the USA adidas started a kiosk project, which offered the customer interactivity on highest level. An unusual ambience in the store was created by a multiplicity of displays, on which full motion videos ran, which were steered by a kiosk terminal - with the goal, to inform the customers in details about certain adidas products and to give them a permanent impression from their advantages. Over 32 individual LCD screens in different sizes the attention of the customers was reached, on the small displays beside the shoes information about the indicated shoe were given in word and picture. The kiosk terminal consisted only of the display, all other components was accommodated in a separate room in the rear part of the shop due to safety reasons. Thus one directed the attention of the customers exclusively on the touchscreen and reached the effect that the often only small sales room was not seized still by place-corrosive hardware and the interest of the customers could be directed exclusively on the products. The adidas kiosk terminals could be used by the sales personnel also as selling assistance and were accepted of them and of the customers with enthusiasm. It peoperly attracted the customers, as observations have shown in the Crystal Shoe Store in Boston and in the Sport Ame­ri­cana in Hollywood, so that this  project was awarded as „Runner Up" within the „2002 Interactive Kiosk Excellence Awards". In the „adidas Sport Per­for­mance Centres" in Paris and Hamburg or many other large cities the „mi Innovation Center" represent the most substantial part of the stores. On a digitally produced LED Catwalk the customer approaches on the central „Cube " and „pursues"thereby a digital runner -  here his running attitude and other information are digitally seized for the determination of the suitable shoe. At the next station the customer can individually sketch his custom-made football, hand ball, tennis or running shoe. Beside kind of sport and material it concerns here primarily on design. A large-sized configurator provides the individual design in the smallest detail. Innovative here particularly is the presentation: the customer steers the configurator with the finger in the free area, i.e. via gestures by means of infrared and lasers. In a „Virtual Mirror "the customer can then admire the selected shoe at his foot - deceptively genuinly and without having to take off his own shoes. Via camera tracking and a special software a digital 3D model of the shoe is merged with its mirror image - if it pleases, one then can immediately order the shoe. In addition to the „Cube" the „mIC" also has a „Con­sul­ting Zone" and a „Scan Table" displaying information about the newest adidas footwear styles. At the table the customer moves a sliding monitor. Via RFID technology specific product information about the shoe will appear on the screen. Throughout the mIC experience, customers are accompanied by specially trained „adidas experts" who, like a personal trainer, advise on nutrition and right exercises. Additionally they record with a portable hand-held PC all data and desires of the customer, creating so an individual user profile  that he/she can view at their convenience at home via the Internet. On 31 January 2008 and on 02 February 2008 adidas started in Berlin and in New York with the opening of the „Adidas Atelier" a new shop concept for the adidas "Originals". Main components of this new concept are still more interactive technol­o­gies as well as the „Mi Originals Center".At interactive terminals customers themselves can design their individual adidas superstar or ZX700 shoe models and can let them sent at home within 3 weeks. A library with information and photos of the history of adidas shall give the customers ideas and inspirations for designing their own shoes. Further deeply inside the store adidas equipped a wall, the so-called „Trefoil Wall", with a lot of framed LCD flat screens. Customers can take up a photo of themselves with a camera fastened to it, which is held for 24 hours in one of the screens. In this way a constantly changing collage of portraits with adidas fans does exist.  

 In addition, it gave still different, perhaps somewhat more modest possibilities to increase customer loyalty at the shoe retailers by innovative concepts. Thus in the year 2002 the Belgian retailer Euroshoe tried for its shoe shop chain „Shoes in the box" with a a new shopping system, which could be characterised as a high-quality and optical layout, animating by this more passery-by to enter its shops which are located in central shopping streets of Brussels and Antwerp. The deployment of Digital Signage should increase the attractiveness of the business and provide in such a way for a higher period spent of the customers in the shop. The selected solution had to fit the modern image of Euroshoe and furthermore to especially accent. The customer saw current trends on the plasma screens, he experienced, what was trendy in the season and which clothes fit the new shoes. Short trailers with advertising spots well-known from the TV and animated flash versions of the logo supported thereby the branding. Beyond that the screens served as shop control system, by taking up the colors, which assigns to the individual categories of commodities such as gentleman, lady or children's shoes. The exclusive shoe and textile store of Eduard Meier in Munich used already in the year 2004 smell terminals, in order to increase by a well-being feeling effect the period spent of the customers and concomitantly the sales. The Netherlands shoe branchist „Nimco House of Shoes " used its 100 years firm anniversary as an opportunity for a relaunch of all its sales channels. Basic idea was the creation of a modern experience world by clear route configuration, visible shop layout and introduction of Digital Signage for a „kid TV "and a customer program. And the Austrian shoe retailer Humanic uses light as stimulating, dramaturgical and emotional element, in order to put its products on stage and to ensure for a visual and felt atmosphere. Instead of even brightness light defines contrast conditions, which structure different sales zones and make them intuitively experiencable: the child department lures with merry multicolored light, within the good deal area mirror raster optics provides for aggressive signal effects and in the  „delux "- section the noble shoe models pose in high-quality seeming. The lighting concept in the Humanic shops offers thus photometric alternations and supports different tendencies and price ranges.  In order to obtain, the newest experien­ces of neuro marketing are used, for finding out, by which feeling conditions the purchase decisions, that are met met to 70 and more per cent irrationally, are accompanied, and how these realizations can be converted in architecture.

Further information you will shortly find in the "MediaCityReport - with multimedia media on the overhauling trace ", the most extensive and so far singular study about the best practise of Kiosk Terminals and Digital Signage all over the world.