Self-Service Innovation Summit

Table of Contents

Self-Service Innovation Summit and ARKI Trade Shows

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the Self-Service Innovation Summit, oops, new name. Held in a hotel, speakers, education sessions, hand out some awards, and use a ballroom for an expo. People ask about it, what it is, how popular it is, etc. Being a former investor, founder, and principal officer of the company, being objective is challenging. Usually, I will refer people to other people to answer those questions.

The latest development is the newest rebranding to ARKI (Automated Retail and Kiosk Innovation). Being from Oklahoma and Arkansas, I can identify with being an Okie and an Arky ironically. It looks like they are leaning towards the angle of angel investors for concepts. Speed dating. Awards, like almost any other show, usually involve sponsors. We always liked the Red Dot design awards. It is a long domain name for sure but Networld has always tried to sweep up multiple verticals instead of truly focusing on one. [Story time — while working for Networld Craig helped acquire the domain name kiosk.com and then when Craig left and went to work for KIS in Colorado, he negotiated the purchase of the domain from Alan F.. They came that close to be dominant but short term capital was always their weakness]

And of course, we have to mention KioskCom (albeit a dead trademark). KioskCom eventually tried to diversify into digital signage and “retail engagement,” whatever that is. It was a sweet ride for a while.

The largest reported attendance for the KioskCom tradeshow was more than 1,400 qualified buyers, with over 200 exhibitors at the 2009 event held in Las Vegas. This event is cited as a high-water mark for attendance and exhibitor participation, illustrating KioskCom’s position as the world’s largest kiosk and self-service event during its peak years.

While earlier and later years saw strong participation, the 2009 figures of 1,400+ attendees and 200+ exhibitors stand out as the most concrete and widely cited record for the show’s peak size.

2025 Schedule

Website
Date and Venue: December 10-12 in Tampa (Hilton Tampa Downtown)
Speakers – so far just two people from Networld
Expo – none listed so far
Sessions — Vending (2), Kiosk UI, Micromarkets, Payments (2)
Awards – there are awards but no idea of judges or criteria
Ventus is a sponsor of sessions as is Burroughs though Burroughs has fallen on tough times we think.

2025 Speaker Line Up

As of May 29, 2025, the official speaker lineup for the 2025 Automated Retail & Kiosk Innovation Show (ARKI), formerly known as the Self-Service Innovation Summit, has not been published in the available sources. The event website and media coverage primarily reference the 2024 speakers and encourage visitors to join a mailing list for future speaker announcements.

For the 2025 event, the only confirmed detail is that the program will feature two dedicated content tracks covering trends and innovations in automated retail and kiosks, with a steering committee composed of key industry figures guiding the event’s vision.

2025 Exhibitors

The 2025 event formerly known as the Self-Service Innovation Summit is now called the Automated Retail & Kiosk Innovation Show (ARKI), taking place December 10-12, 2025, in Tampa, Florida. As of now, the official and complete list of exhibitors for 2025 has not been published in the available sources. However, some details can be inferred:

The event will feature a broad range of exhibitors from the self-service, kiosk, vending, micro-market, automation, and digital solutions sectors.
Past expos and recent coverage suggest that companies specializing in kiosks, vending machines, payment solutions, robotics, and AI will be present.
The event’s steering committee includes representatives from Canteen North America, Tampa International Airport, Blue Sky Robotics, Amerikiosks, Ventus, IncrediVend, and Networld Media Group, indicating these organizations may have a presence on the expo floor.

The speakers at the 2024 Self-Service Innovation Summit included:

Mike Abecassis (Founder & CEO, GameTime & General Vending Service)
James Boushka (Head of Emerging Digital Experiences, Aramark) — Aramark, Grubhub, Elo and Ingenico food order for student union Ole Miss, Restaurant Self-Order Kiosks Ole Miss Student Union
Jeremy Cauble (Director of Strategic Innovation, Canteen North America)
Charece Conklin (Director of Customer Engagement, Buffalo Strive Vending)
Tim Fern (Chief Commercial Officer, Eyebot) — Eyebot Kiosk for Vision Screening Test – The company has tapped Crane Payment Innovations as its kiosk’s field service technician and white glove installer.
Rebecca Kahn (Franchise Business Leader for U.S. & Canada, Gong cha Global)
Steven King (CEO, Blue Sky Robotics)
Steve Lieber (VP of Franchise Development, BurgerFi) — How BurgerFi self-order ROI is calculated, and what it is. GRUBBRR, Samsung and Oracle part of the equation.
Candra Livsey (Founder & COO, Delightful Vending)
Sassan Rahimzadeh (President, ARYA Cleaners)
Dr. Anora Morton (CEO & Founder, The Nori Project)

2024 Exhibitors

The 2024 Self-Service Innovation Summit expo featured a diverse lineup of exhibitors showcasing the latest advancements in self-service technology, including kiosks, vending, payments, logistics, and automation. While a complete, official exhibitor list for 2024 is not directly provided in the search results, the following companies are confirmed or highly likely to have participated, based on event coverage and previous expos:

365 Retail Markets Inc.: Presented micro market solutions, including the MM6 countertop kiosk with a 22-inch touchscreen supporting multiple payment options.
Hassett Logistics: Showcased logistics services tailored for self-serve retail and kiosk industries, including scheduling, handling, and delivery solutions.
Honeywell: Featured the Xenon Ultra family of handheld barcode scanners and scan engines for self-service kiosks, vending, access control, and more.
Ingenico: Introduced the Self/3000 unattended payment device, designed for vending, car wash, EV charging, and other self-service environments, in partnership with Payroc.
Kiosk Information Systems: Displayed a variety of self-service kiosks for retail, hospitality, healthcare, transportation, and other sectors, including inventory returns and tracking systems.
Kiosoft: Presented the VQ-M payment solution, a compact payment device with touch keys and LCD screen for unattended environments
Gong cha: Highlighted its kiosk-driven customer engagement and omnichannel ordering experience, as discussed in keynote presentations.

2023?

Based on available information, several exhibitors at the 2024 Self-Service Innovation Summit also exhibited at the 2023 event. The following companies are confirmed to have exhibited in both years:

365 Retail Markets Inc.
Hassett Logistics
Honeywell
Ingenico
Kiosk Information Systems
Kiosoft

Attendance

There is no direct reporting about the specific attendance numbers for the 2024 Self-Service Innovation Summit or how those numbers compare to previous years. The provided sources discuss attendance trends for other summits and events in 2024, but not for the Self-Service Innovation Summit itself.

Based on available industry event patterns and the previously reported figure of 252 confirmed industry experts for 2024, the attendance appears consistent with the summit’s typical scale, which is generally described as attracting “hundreds” of attendees. Prior years have also been characterized by similar attendance levels, usually in the low hundreds

Background on Craig Keefner and Networld

Craig Keefner, while at Gift Certificate Center and doing bridal registry kiosks for Target, was the moderator for the comp.infosystems.kiosks Usenet group and then he started and founded kiosks.org. Networld was operating ATMmarketplace and wanted to expand to kiosks so they formulated the start of KioskMarketplace sister site. Monetizing vertical websites was common. Networld bought Craig out to provide an audience base (and to monetize). Craig held the position of Executive Vice President at NetWorld Alliance for two years before his blood pressure went over 200. During his tenure, he was instrumental in developing NetWorld’s kiosk industry initiatives, including helping to formalize (read monetize) the Kiosks.org Association, where he served as the first Executive Director. His responsibilities included managing the kiosks.org website, developing the association’s “pavilion” program for trade shows, installing new server infrastructure, and creating a framework for the search engine optimization program for the company.

In January 2020, Keefner accepted a buyout of his remaining shares.

Let’s look at traffic (we’ll use Semrush which #1 SEO engine)

automated retail and kiosks website – currently 1
vendingtimes.com — 4,000 traffic
qsrweb — 16,000
retail customer experience – 9,000
Biblical Leadership — 2,400
Pizza Marketplace — 10,000
ATM Marketplace — 5,200 (peaked in 2021 at 7000)
Kiosk Marketplace — 7500 (in March 2024 around 1400)

Quick Look at The Industry Group

Overall last 30 days — 12 million requests
Kiosk Industry — 30,000 peak now — 80,000 users
Retail Automation – 18,000 users
Thin Client, Media Players and MiniPC — 19,000
Digital Signage Blog – 12,000
KMA Global – 13,000 users

Self-Service Innovation Summit Tradeshow