A&P ADDS REAL ESTATE KIOSKS

JOEL ELSON

ATLANTA -- A&P's Southeast group has installed interactive real estate kiosks in 12 of its stores on a leased space basis.

The freestanding unit, called The Real Estate Station, operates like a personalized greeting card kiosk. Through touch-screen technology shoppers can scan about 800 homes for sale in various price ranges in the greater Atlanta area. They can get a printout of the homes they've selected. There is no charge to use the machine.

The grocery chain has booked the Real Estate Stations as an added customer convenience.

"It's part of the enhancement of services today's supermarkets are trying to offer their customers to keep them at the store longer," said a Southeast group official, who asked to remain anonymous. Other grocery chains testing the units supplied by Interactive Solutions, the hardware and software developer, based here, are: Gooding's Supermarkets, Altamonte Springs, Fla., where SN observed a group of customers using the kiosk located near the meat department at its Cross Roads store in Lake Buena Vista, and Harris Teeter, Charlotte, N.C.

A&P placed the units, which take up just four square feet of space, in the stores late last year. Expansion of the program is under consideration, said the chain source.

Interactive Solutions operates the units under a leasing arrangement with the supermarket chains. The supplier pays a fee -- ranging from free space to $150 a month -- to the food chains for the space, said Tim Griner, a founder of Interactive Solutions. Gooding's installed the kiosks at seven stores in February, according to Vicki Mixson, vice president and territory manager of Home Touch of Florida, Longwood, Fla., licensee for the Real Estate Station software.

"This is another service grocery chains can offer as they diversify and try and attract customers that don't necessarily shop at that chain," said Mixson.

According to Mixson, Home Touch of Florida pays rental fees to Gooding's for space to house the kiosk. Gooding's had no comment when contacted by SN. Harris Teeter has used the kiosks at 10 Charlotte-area stores for the past three years, said David Baker, president of Interactive Solutions.

"People are increasingly coming to supermarkets for prepaid phone cards, ATM machines and many other services that grocery stores are getting into for better shopper convenience," he added. Ruth Kinzey, Harris Teeter's corporate communications manager, simply described the kiosks as "an additional service that improves customer convenience." Customers at the chains using the units enter the price range and type of home they'd like to buy and are shown the interior and exterior of several residences in color photos. The computer's screen details the property's price, location, square footage and realtor.

In the same way they run ads in real estate publications, real estate brokers, developers and builders advertise on the computer data bank, explained Baker. Listings are updated twice a month.