By: Dylan Sikes - AllPennyStocks.com News

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Malls and stores are becoming more and more kiosk-centric than ever before. It seems like only yesterday that the walkways of a mall were essentially open space, unless it was the holiday season and little booths popped up selling all kinds of goodies. Not anymore. Kiosks are everywhere. Even standalone retail stores have become flooded with stores within the store. The reasoning is pretty simple as it generates revenue for the property owner and gives retailers an additional high-profile avenue to sell their goods, so it’s a win-win for the involved parties. With all of the hubbub surrounding kiosks, the classic directory is probably needed more than ever, yet it can sometimes be hard to find. Worse yet, many directories have remained their old boring self and haven’t kept up with the digital age.

A new pact between mall and shopping center retailer CBL & Associates Properties Inc. (NYSE:CBL) and Visionstate, Inc., a division of CSM Systems Corp. (TSX-Venture:CKX), is looking to change that.

CLB is one of the biggest owners and developers in malls and shopping plazas in the United States, owning, managing or holding an interest in 150 properties across 29 states. Visionstate is a developer of interactive technology software, including touchscreen cleaning management software and ViCCi, an acronym for Virtual Customer Care Interface, which is used in mobile and stationary applications. ViCCi is an interactive touchscreen directory kiosk that is now being used in buildings throughout Canada and the United States.

Like traditional directories, the software is designed to help shoppers with information on store locations, but delivers it with new three-dimensional maps on a 55-inch screen and offers directory searching by keyword, category and alphabet. Further, the kiosk is a real-time interactive advertising hub, can be used for tenants to display sales/promotions and job opportunities and serve as an important medium for local emergency officials to reach the public.

With an installation at Sherwood Park Mall in Alberta, Canada last month, CSM surpassed 11 million square feet of interactively mapped retail space. Currently used in about 15 malls and shopping centers in Canada, the technology is about to double that number of locations in the U.S.

Per the agreement between Visionstate and CBL, an estimated 90 kiosks will be installed at 30 CBL properties within the next 12 months. The first locations will be the East Towne Mall and West Towne Mall in Madison, Wisconsin.

"[We] are pleased to be one of the first national mall developers to bring digital directories to our customers, retailers, and partners. We are confident that the Visionstate directory units will make the shopping, dining, and entertainment experience at select CBL malls more enjoyable and convenient,” said Jim Ward, CBL Vice-President, Brand Development, in a statement today.

CSM Systems’ stock hasn’t dipped below 2 cents since June 2012 (and only briefly then) and is hovering just above that level despite today’s news. With a market capitalization of only $1 million, this interesting little company seems worthy of some additional due diligence for investors in Canadian equities.

Copyright © 2014 AllPennyStocks.com. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of AllPennyStocks.com's content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AllPennyStocks.com. AllPennyStocks.com shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.