U.S. Self-Service Kiosk Market 2021: The Industry Group Perspective

A historical analysis of the U.S. kiosk sector as recorded in 2021 — In Order to Have Better Idea of What Is, Best to Remember What Was!

Editor’s Note

This paper preserves a snapshot of the U.S. self-service kiosk market as it appeared in 2021 — a transitional year marked by pandemic recovery, supply-chain stress, and the first wave of “touchless” solutions. These findings are maintained for historical reference by The Industry Group to illustrate how the market viewed itself before AI, voice, and multimodal systems began redefining self-service in the mid-2020s.

1. Introduction — What a Kiosk Was in 2021

In 2021, “self-service kiosk” described an interactive terminal enabling customers to complete a transaction, retrieve information, or access a service without staff assistance. Kiosks delivered four essential functions:

• Payment and transaction handling (retail, QSR, financial services)

• Check-in and identification (airports, hotels, offices, healthcare)

• Branding and digital promotion (retail merchandising, digital signage)

• Product management and logistics (parcel pickup, bill pay, ticketing)

At the time, The Industry Group defined the core kiosk sector as hardware + software + services — excluding ATMs, vending, and pure POS terminals. That “core” U.S. market was valued around $2.6 billion in 2019, projected to reach $4.4 billion by 2025, roughly a 16% CAGR based on industry data then available.

2. Market Context: 2021 in Perspective

By early 2021, self-service had moved from novelty to expectation. Customers wanted convenience and control; operators sought lower labor cost and faster throughput. Kiosks delivered both.

COVID-19 accelerated adoption across every vertical. Businesses that once debated the ROI of self-ordering systems were suddenly rolling them out under health-safety mandates. In airports, hospitals, and restaurants, the kiosk became the “safe distance employee.”

The retail and quick-service restaurant (QSR) sectors dominated unit deployments, while healthcare was emerging as the fastest-growing user category. Hospitals deployed kiosks for appointment check-in, ID verification, co-pay collection, and consent capture — tasks that could be automated without human contact.

3. Applications and Use Cases

The Industry Group categorized kiosk applications under ten headings:

• Check-In Kiosks: Airlines, hotels, and healthcare reception.

• Check-Out Kiosks: Self-scanning retail lanes and hybrid POS systems.

• Ticketing Kiosks: Entertainment, parking, and transit.

• Self-Ordering Kiosks: QSR, cafes, and convenience dining.

• Financial and Bill-Pay Kiosks: Banking, utilities, and government services.

• Digital Signage Kiosks: Advertising, wayfinding, and engagement.

• Bitcoin Kiosks: A small but rapidly expanding niche, >40% CAGR in 2021.

• Temperature Screening Kiosks: A short-lived pandemic phenomenon.

• Other Specialized Kiosks: Parcel, loyalty, and campus deployments.

Each segment had its own trajectory. Self-ordering and digital signage kiosks were the clear volume leaders, while the “Bitcoin ATM” boom reflected speculative enthusiasm rather than core self-service growth.

4. Industry Segments and End Users

By end-user vertical:

• Retail accounted for roughly one-fifth of total revenue, driven by omnichannel strategies and contactless payment adoption.

• Restaurants & QSRs leaned into kiosks for throughput and labor savings; the “McDonald’s effect” had already normalized self-ordering.

• Healthcare showed the highest growth rate, projected near 19% CAGR through 2025.

• Hospitality & Entertainment were in recovery mode, with check-in kiosks viewed as both convenience and reassurance.

• Government, Education, and Transportation deployments remained steady but cautious, constrained by budget cycles.

Notably, 2021 was the year tablet kiosks emerged as a disruptive subcategory — compact, affordable, and easy to deploy. For small operators, tablets replaced bulky floor models and introduced the “kiosk as a service” concept.

5. Regulatory Climate and Accessibility

Regulatory awareness grew sharply between 2017 and 2021. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Access Board guidelines, PCI DSS, EMV, HIPAA, and FDA rules each influenced kiosk design and deployment.

Accessibility: The Industry Group emphasized the need for inclusive design — reach heights (15–48 inches), clear floor space, tactile controls, audio output, and braille instructions. By 2021, lawsuits over non-compliant kiosks had increased, prompting major OEMs to integrate accessible peripherals from the start.

Payment Security: PCI and EMV compliance remained uneven. Many operators still used magnetic readers or uncertified enclosures. The shift toward point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and tokenization was underway, reducing risk but raising certification costs.

Healthcare Privacy: HIPAA enforcement pushed clinics toward privacy filters and on-screen masking. The kiosk became both an interface and a data-security device.

FDA Oversight: The sudden surge of temperature-screening kiosks brought the FDA into play; by late 2020, emergency guidance clarified that such devices were medical instruments subject to performance and labeling rules.

6. Market Drivers in 2021

1. Enhanced Customer Experience
In QSR and retail, kiosks cut wait times, improved order accuracy, and offered visual upselling that often increased ticket size 10–30%. Operators recognized kiosks as both throughput tools and brand-experience assets.

2. Revenue and Cost Efficiency
Automation delivered measurable ROI: more sales per customer, fewer staff hours per shift. A kiosk cost more upfront than a counter terminal but paid back quickly via higher utilization and customer preference for self-service.

3. Smart City Momentum
Cities like New York, Kansas City, and St. Louis were deploying interactive kiosks for wayfinding, emergency alerts, Wi-Fi access, and public information. For vendors, smart-city contracts validated the medium’s civic role beyond commerce.

4. Contactless Payments and Hygiene
COVID-19 normalized tap-and-go transactions. NFC and mobile wallets became must-have features. The Industry Group observed a 69% rise in contactless payments across retail — a trend that directly increased kiosk adoption.

7. Market Challenges in 2021

Cybersecurity and Network Exposure
Kiosks were often left on open corporate networks, sharing access with POS terminals. Industry testing showed that poorly hardened kiosks could be compromised within minutes if physical or USB access was available. The Industry Group urged operators to treat kiosks as “edge servers,” not appliances — emphasizing OS lockdown, patching, and encrypted communications.

High Initial Costs and Integration Complexity
Despite price drops in displays and compute hardware, the total cost of ownership remained significant: design, certification, logistics, and field maintenance often exceeded expectations. Many OEMs still underestimated the lifecycle cost compared to POS terminals.

8. COVID-19 and Behavioral Shift

The pandemic reshaped consumer psychology. Touchscreens, once intuitive, suddenly felt risky. Operators responded with voice interfaces, gesture control, foot-pedal navigation, and UV-C sanitization.

Hospitals and universities pioneered “touchless” check-in models. QSRs combined mobile apps with in-store pickup kiosks. The Industry Group documented a surge in hybrid workflows — order on phone, retrieve via kiosk, pay contactlessly.

While “temperature kiosks” boomed briefly, their market collapsed as public health rules relaxed. Yet that short-lived category pushed awareness of kiosk versatility to new audiences.

9. The 2021 Outlook — Industry Expectations at the Time

By the end of 2021, the consensus within The Industry Group community was optimistic but cautious:

• Growth: 16% CAGR projected through 2025, led by QSR, retail, and healthcare.

• Technology Shift: Tablet kiosks and Android systems predicted to dominate new deployments.

• Regulatory Pressure: ADA and PCI compliance expected to shape hardware design cycles.

• AI Horizon: Machine learning and computer vision were beginning to influence prototypes but remained experimental.

The mood of the time was pragmatic. Manufacturers were diversifying supply chains, exploring service contracts, and preparing for consolidation. Investors viewed kiosks as a bridge between digital commerce and physical presence — a “necessary infrastructure” for an increasingly contactless economy.

10. What We Know Now (2025 Reflection)

Looking back, much of the 2021 analysis proved directionally right but optimistic in pace.

• The pandemic-driven spike normalized by 2023, but the self-ordering habit remained permanent.

• Tablet and modular systems overtook legacy kiosks faster than forecast, reshaping cost structures and supplier dynamics.

• The AI era—voice, vision, and personalization—arrived earlier than analysts expected, redefining “self-service” into “intelligent assistance.”

• Compliance matured: ADA and PCI standards are now embedded in design workflows, not post-launch retrofits.

• The market, once pegged at $4.4 billion U.S. by 2025, likely settled closer to the $3 billion range for true interactive kiosks, excluding ATM and POS hybrids — confirming The Industry Group’s long-held view that syndicated reports overstated totals.

11. Conclusion

The 2021 U.S. self-service kiosk market represented a turning point: the shift from mechanical transaction terminals to connected, adaptive digital interfaces. What began as a crisis response became a foundation for modern customer engagement.

For analysts and investors, this historical perspective underscores a simple truth that remains relevant in 2025: kiosks succeed when they solve a real operational problem, integrate cleanly with digital systems, and respect accessibility and security from the start.

Top U.S. Kiosk Manufacturers – 2021 Historical Snapshot

As of 2021, the U.S. self-service kiosk market was highly fragmented but innovation-driven, with dozens of regional OEMs and integrators serving retail, restaurant, transportation, and government sectors. The Industry Group’s archival analysis (sourced from 2019–2021 data) identified the following companies as the leading manufacturers shaping the U.S. market landscape at the time.

And in no particular order —

1. Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc. (Wisconsin)
A long-standing design and fabrication leader in POP displays, Frank Mayer has firm position in the 2021 market share rankings. Known for branded retail displays and interactive self-order kiosks, the company’s QSR and retail deployments defined much of the U.S. market’s visual identity.

2. Kiosk Information Systems (Colorado)
Specializing in both standard and custom builds, Kiosk Information Systems (KIS) was the second-largest OEM, commanding major share across transportation, government, and healthcare deployments. Its manufacturing scale and in-house software integration positioned it as one of the few true “turnkey” providers in the U.S.

3. Meridian Kiosks (North Carolina)
Meridian ranked third, combining strong vertical integration with solid government, retail, and transportation contracts. Its in-house fabrication model reflected the industry’s shift toward American-based production after 2018 tariff pressures.

4. Olea Kiosks Inc. (California)
Recognized for design quality and ADA compliance, Olea blended craftsmanship with modular design. The company’s adaptability made it a preferred OEM for both large QSR brands and financial service integrators.

5. Lilitab LLC (California)
A pioneer of tablet-based kiosks, Lilitab represented the emerging trend toward lighter, lower-cost form factors. Its integrated enclosures became popular among healthcare providers and small-format retail.

6. Redyref Interactive Kiosks (New Jersey)
Redyref combined manufacturing, digital signage, and enclosure design. In 2021, it served enterprise clients and system integrators seeking industrial-grade reliability for public environments.

7. Advanced Kiosks (New Hampshire)
Focused on modular indoor/outdoor systems, Advanced Kiosks supplied government agencies, universities, and service providers with preconfigured, easily serviced kiosks — an early reflection of “kiosk-as-a-service” thinking.

Other U.S. players mentioned in the 2021 data included LamasaTech, 22Miles, Mimo Monitors, Marathon Deployment, and Peerless-AV, each representing supporting niches in software, peripherals, or deployment services.

Together, these OEMs defined the post-2015 era of American kiosk manufacturing, characterized by:

• Repatriation of production for quality and compliance reasons.

• Expansion into touchless and tablet kiosks.

• Greater emphasis on ADA, PCI, and EMV standards.

• Growing partnerships between hardware manufacturers and CMS/software firms.

While their combined market share represented only a few percentage points each in a fragmented industry, these companies were the backbone of the U.S. kiosk ecosystem during its critical modernization phase.

What We Know Now (2025 Reflection)

Four years later, the U.S. kiosk manufacturing landscape has evolved, but the core group that defined 2021 remains largely intact—though more diversified and strategically aligned than ever.

Frank Mayer and Associates continues to hold a strong position as a premium design and fabrication house. Its emphasis on retail experience and QSR rollout programs has kept it relevant even as the industry moved toward smaller footprints and connected ecosystems.

Kiosk Information Systems (KIS) remains a cornerstone OEM, though it now leans more heavily into enterprise and government deployments with integrated software partnerships. The company’s maturity in logistics, certification, and field service has proven to be a moat in an increasingly software-driven market.

Meridian Kiosks has maintained growth in government, education, and secure ID sectors, leveraging its U.S.-made reputation and early adoption of ADA/508 compliance automation tools.

Olea Kiosks has become the design benchmark—its ADA-certified units, customizable enclosures, and collaboration with accessibility advocates have influenced industry best practices. Olea’s focus on modular, brand-specific designs has kept it in front of both hospitality and fintech projects.

Lilitab successfully bridged the gap between kiosks and mobile devices. Its tablet-based form factors evolved into “semi-attended” retail and medical units, reflecting a broader industry trend toward flexible, portable self-service endpoints.

Redyref and Advanced Kiosks have both leaned into service bundling—offering full-lifecycle programs including remote monitoring, on-site repair, and SLA-based uptime commitments. These programs anticipated the “service-as-revenue” movement now spreading through the kiosk and digital signage sectors.

New entrants—often AI-native or sensor-integrated—have joined the ecosystem since 2021, but the companies above remain the architects of the modern self-service infrastructure. Their legacy lies not in unit volume, but in proving that well-designed, standards-compliant, serviceable kiosks could scale nationally while maintaining a human-centered interface.

As of 2025, The Industry Group continues to recognize these firms as the core cohort that defined the American self-service era—bridging the gap between static hardware and intelligent, adaptive systems.

Key Lessons from 2021–2025: Manufacturer Takeaways

1. Build for Compliance First.
Companies that baked ADA, PCI, and EMV compliance into the design stage—rather than retrofitting—avoided litigation, accelerated deployment, and protected brand equity.

2. Services Became the Differentiator.
Hardware margins continued to thin, but service programs—installation, field maintenance, monitoring, and analytics—emerged as steady recurring revenue streams.

3. Design Still Wins.
Aesthetic, user-centered design remains a decisive factor in procurement. Olea, KIOSK, Pyramid, and others proved that visual quality, tactile layout, and accessibility drive both brand trust and utilization rates.

4. Scale Requires Integration.
The most successful OEMs partnered with software platforms, CMS vendors, and payment processors to offer end-to-end solutions. The future belongs to manufacturers who understand APIs as well as aluminum.

5. AI is the Next Layer.
The 2021 leaders built the physical foundation; the 2025 leaders are adding intelligence—voice, vision, and context—to make kiosks adaptive rather than reactive.