Nobody Wants an App for a One-Time Visit
You’re standing at a stadium gate. Or in a hotel lobby. Or a clinic waiting room. A sign says, “Download our app to check in.” So you search the app store, wait for the download, create an account, and make up yet another password. All for something you’ll do once.
In that time, you could have walked up to a kiosk, tapped a few buttons, and been on your way.
That small moment reflects a big decision for the business behind it. Every company that offers self-service has to choose: build an app, install kiosks, or both. Get it right, and lines move faster and customers leave happy. Get it wrong, and you’ve paid for an app people delete or a kiosk nobody uses.
The good news is there’s a simple way to decide self-service kiosk vs app. It starts with one question: how often do your customers show up?
The Frequency Test: When Apps Win and When Kiosks Win
The frequency test is a simple way to choose. If customers interact with you every week, an app can earn a place on their phone. If they visit a few times a year or less, a kiosk usually serves them better.
People are picky about which apps they keep. Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile 2026 report found the average user engages with about 34 apps a month. That is a small, crowded space. A new app has to compete with everything already there.
Most new apps lose that contest. Benchmark data from Adjust shows only about 26% of users open an app again the day after they install it. By day 30, that number drops to about 7%.
The Clutch survey explains why. Over half of users (54%) say they delete an app once they are done using it. But 77% keep an app that becomes part of their routine. In other words, people keep the apps they use often and delete the rest.
That is the frequency test in action. Your bank, an airline you fly every month, or the coffee chain you visit before work can earn a spot on your phone. A hotel you stay at once, a stadium you visit twice a season, or a DMV office you see every few years usually cannot.
Why Kiosks Still Matter When an App Exists
Even when a business has a good app, a kiosk often does the job better on site. Here are four reasons.
1. Not everyone has a smartphone. According to Pew Research Center’s 2025 survey, 91% of U.S. adults own a smartphone. That sounds high until you look at age. Ownership is 97% for adults 18 to 29, but only 78% for adults 65 and older. If many of your visitors are older, about one in five may not have a smartphone at all. A kiosk works for everyone who walks in.
2. Phones and networks fail at the worst time. Dead batteries, weak signals, and crowded Wi-Fi are common at busy venues. In 2025, the Dutch soccer club Feyenoord’s app failed before a match. Fans could not reach their seats by kickoff, and the club had to open the gates. A kiosk does not depend on the visitor’s phone or data plan.
3. Some tasks are easier on a bigger screen. Scanning a driver’s license, reading a long form, or signing your name is awkward on a phone. We saw this with a healthcare system that said many of its patients already use the health system’s app. Yet when given the choice, most patients check in at the kiosk instead of on their phones. The reason is not awareness. The kiosk is simply easier.
4. Payment feels safer on dedicated hardware. Many people hesitate to type card details into an app they just downloaded. A kiosk with a secure tap or insert card reader feels familiar, like paying at a store.
Where Apps Still Win
Apps do some things a kiosk cannot. They let people order ahead, collect loyalty points, and get updates before they arrive. For frequent visits, many customers prefer them. In a 2023 Tillster survey of restaurant diners, 71% said they prefer ordering through a restaurant’s own website or app over third-party apps. Their reasons were lower costs, convenience, and loyalty rewards.
That same survey also found that 34% of diners want restaurants to offer more self-service kiosks. Both channels have fans. The goal is to match each one to the right customer and the right moment.
The Best Answer Is Often Both
The strongest self-service setups do not make customers pick. They connect the app and the kiosk so neither path is a dead end. Here is how that looks:
• App users skip ahead. Someone who checked in or ordered on their phone scans a QR code at the kiosk and is done in seconds.
• Everyone else finishes at the kiosk. Visitors without the app complete the whole task on site, with nothing to download.
• No one repeats work. Information entered in the app carries over, so people never fill out the same form twice.
Hotels are moving in this direction. In a survey commissioned by Mews, a hotel software company, 70% of American travelers said they would likely check themselves in using an app or a kiosk instead of the front desk. Travelers want to skip the line. They just do not all want to do it the same way.
Four Questions to Ask Before You Decide
Before choosing a kiosk, an app, or both, ask these four questions:
1. How often do customers visit? Weekly visits can support an app. Occasional visits favor a kiosk.
2. Who are your customers? Think about age, comfort with technology, and access to smartphones and data.
3. What is the task? Scanning IDs, signing forms, and taking payments are easier on a kiosk.
4. What happens if a phone or network fails? If the answer is “the line stops,” you need an option that does not depend on the visitor’s device.
The Bottom Line
Customers are not against technology. They are against clutter. Most people will gladly use self-service when it is fast and easy. They just do not want one more app for a visit they make once or twice a year.
For frequent visits, an app can earn its place. For everything else, a kiosk gives every visitor a zero-download way to get in, get done, and move on. Planning a self-service rollout and weighing kiosk versus app? We’re happy to help with a conversation. Contact Olea Kiosks.
