Mobile
Android (Kotlin)
Apps built specifically for Android, with full access to the phone's hardware, background location and company-managed devices.
Used for
- Apps for Android
- Delivery partner apps
- Billing and POS apps
- Field staff apps
Kiosk mode · Retail
Android™ kiosk mode development for retail stores
Catalogue, price-check and queue kiosks on Android tablets that shoppers cannot wander out of, updated from head office instead of store visits.
This page brings together
- Runs on
- Android Enterprise
- Admin
- Web app
Kiosks that stay kiosks, in every store
A retail kiosk is usually a tablet on a stand near the shelf or the billing counter. It helps shoppers find a size in stock, check a price without queuing, sign up for loyalty or take a token for the trial room. The hardware is inexpensive; what fails is everything around it. By the weekend, someone has closed the app, opened a video site or changed the language, and the store's tablet shows a home screen.
Kiosk mode fixes the device side. On a company-owned tablet set up as a dedicated device, the kiosk app runs in lock task mode: the home and recent-apps buttons disappear, notifications stay hidden and the app relaunches after a restart. We build the kiosk app, the lock-down policy and the console that manages them across stores, and plan the rollout so store staff only unbox, plug in and scan a QR code.
Challenges
What goes wrong with store tablets without kiosk management
Shoppers leave the app
Without lock task mode, one swipe reaches the home screen, the browser or settings.
Stale prices and catalogue
Kiosk content updated by hand drifts away from the POS price list within days.
A store visit for every update
Without remote management, each app or content update costs staff time in every store.
Silent failures
A kiosk that lost Wi-Fi or power shows nothing to head office until a manager calls.
Loyalty data left on screen
A half-filled sign-up form can expose the previous shopper's phone number.
What is included
What we build for retail kiosks
Platform: Android tablet (single-app kiosk)
Shopper kiosk app
- Catalogue with sizes and stock for this store
- Barcode price check with the tablet camera or a scanner
- "Call a staff member" requests to the floor team
- Trial-room or billing queue tokens
- Loyalty sign-up with OTP and a consent notice
- Attract loop when idle, session reset after inactivity
- Hindi and regional-language options
Platform: Staff tablet or handheld (multi-app kiosk)
Store staff tools
- Home screen with only stock lookup, assisted selling and store tasks
- Assistance requests showing which kiosk is waiting
- PIN-protected maintenance screen with approved settings only
Platform: Admin dashboard
Head-office console
- Store groups with their own content and policies
- App updates released by store group, with rollback
- Price and catalogue sync from the POS or ERP
- Remote restart and lock, and screen blanking after closing time
- Offline alerts during opening hours only
How it works
How a retail kiosk is set up and kept running
The flow repeats for every new store and every replaced tablet.
- Store manager
Step 1: Tablet reaches the store
A tablet ordered for zero-touch, or reset to factory settings, is mounted on its stand with mains power and store Wi-Fi.
- Store manager
Step 2: Enrolment by QR code or zero-touch
The manager scans the store group QR code on the setup screen, or the tablet enrols itself at first boot if it was ordered for zero-touch.
- Management console
Step 3: Store policy and kiosk lock
The tablet receives the store's rules and starts the kiosk app in lock task mode, with the status bar hidden.
- Kiosk app
Step 4: Catalogue and prices sync
The app loads this store's catalogue, prices and stock from the retailer's systems and caches them for weak connections.
- Shopper
Step 5: Shoppers use the kiosk
They browse, scan a price or call staff; after a minute of inactivity the session clears for the next person.
- Retail operations team
Step 6: Head office monitors and updates
Offline or non-compliant kiosks raise alerts, and app or content updates go out overnight in waves.
Then it starts again at step 1: Tablet reaches the store
Product preview
What shoppers, staff and head office see
Illustrative screens. Stores, products and figures are invented.
Shopper kiosk. Shoppers get three clear choices and nothing else on screen. The tablet cannot be taken out of the app, and a staff request goes straight to the floor team. 
Store staff handheld. Staff handhelds show only the apps the floor team needs, including the list of shoppers waiting for help at each kiosk. 
Head-office console. Operations teams see which kiosks are online, which need an update and which stores have not synced prices today, before shoppers notice.
Illustrative preview
Sample screens: names, prices and figures are examples, not client data.
Before kiosks go into your stores
Pick tablets with Google Play services and long security support
Consumer tablets without Android Enterprise support or regular patches make lock-down unreliable. We shortlist models and test them in kiosk mode first.
Plan power and mounting
Kiosks should run on mains power with a secure stand and cable lock; the app keeps the screen awake only while charging.
Give kiosks their own Wi-Fi
A separate network, or at least a separate SSID, keeps kiosks away from the network your billing counters use.
Decide what staff may change
Brightness, volume and Wi-Fi can sit behind a PIN; everything else stays with head office.
Agree update windows
App and system updates run after closing time. On Android 9 or later, system updates can also be frozen over sale periods, although makers may still push urgent security fixes.
Platforms
Devices and consoles in a retail kiosk rollout
Company-owned Android tablets and staff handhelds in stores, and a web console for head office.
- Mobile
Android Enterprise devices
Android phones, tablets and rugged handhelds with Google Play services, managed through Android Enterprise: company-owned devices as fully managed, dedicated (kiosk) or work-profile devices, and personal phones through a work profile only.
- Back office
Admin dashboard
Back-office panels for operations, support and finance teams: orders, users, content, reports and permissions.
- Web
Web application
Browser-based applications with logins, roles and workflows, such as customer portals, SaaS products and internal tools.
Technology
Technology behind retail kiosks
Kotlin kiosk apps, lock task mode through the Android Management API or a device-owner app, and a NestJS back end that syncs catalogues and prices.
Device management
Android Management API
A Google cloud API for device-management products: your console sets the rules, and a Google app on each Android device applies them.
Used for
- Kiosk products for stores
- EMM and MDM products
- Policy-based device fleets
- QR and zero-touch setup
Device management
Android Device Owner and DPC APIs
Built-in Android APIs that let one trusted app control a company device: kiosk lock, silent app updates and restrictions, even without Google Play.
Used for
- Custom kiosk launchers
- Devices without Google Play
- POS and signage agents
- Silent app updates
Backend
NestJS
A structured way to build back ends on Node.js, so large business systems stay organised, testable and easy to hand over.
Used for
- Business app back ends
- SaaS platforms
- Marketplaces
- Admin panel back ends
Data
PostgreSQL
A reliable database for the records your business runs on: orders, payments, bookings and stock, kept accurate and easy to report on.
Used for
- Orders and customers
- Payments and ledgers
- Stock and inventory
- Bookings
Web
React
Builds interactive screens in the browser, such as dashboards, admin panels and portals, that respond instantly as your team works.
Used for
- Web apps
- Admin panels
- Dashboards
- Customer portals
Cost drivers
What shapes the estimate for store kiosks
Kiosk types
A price checker is a small app; a catalogue with stock, sizes and staff requests is a larger one.
Management route
A kiosk product offered to several retailers can use the Android Management API; a single chain usually extends an existing EMM or needs a device-owner app.
Catalogue and POS integration
Read-only price sync is modest; live stock and loyalty integration depend on your POS or ERP.
Tablet models and number of stores
Each model is tested in kiosk mode, and more stores mean more rollout waves.
Languages and accessibility
Each language needs content, and larger text or audio prompts add design and testing time.
Estimates are written from your scope, with the effort and assumptions behind each line item.
How pricing worksProcess
From pilot store to every store
Store walk-through
We look at where kiosks will stand, the network, the POS and the questions shoppers ask staff most often.
You getKiosk plan per store format
Pilot in two stores
Kiosks run for a few weeks; we watch usage, failures and staff requests and fix what gets in the way.
You getPilot report and fixes
Rollout in waves
Stores are enrolled in groups with a printed QR setup card and a named support contact for the first week.
You getRollout checklist
Run and improve
Monthly updates, tests of new tablet models before purchase and alerts reviewed with your operations team.
You getSupport plan
Work
Retail kiosk sample project
Device management & kiosk solutions
Illustrative sampleAndroid kiosk and device management platform for retail stores
An illustrative kiosk product for retail chains: locked Android tablets for catalogues and price checks, a staff launcher, and a console to enrol, update and monitor every device.
- Retail
- Device management platform
Runs on
- Android Enterprise
- Admin
- Web app
Built with
- Next.js
- React
- Android (Kotlin)
- NestJS
- PostgreSQL
- +1 more
Solutions
Related device-management solutions
Dedicated device (COSU) management
Fleet management for single-purpose Android devices: rugged scanners, delivery handhelds and shift tablets, kept charged, updated and healthy across sites.
Device enrolment and zero-touch provisioning
Zero-touch, QR code, Knox Mobile Enrollment and Apple Automated Device Enrollment set-ups that take devices from the box to ready-to-use.
Android MDM development
Android MDM consoles, backends and device agents built on the Android Management API or a custom device-owner app, for EMM products and specialised fleets.
Digital signage and Android TV device management
Player apps, a scheduling console and device management for menu boards, promotions and queue screens on signage players and devices running Android TV.
More pages
Also available
More pages for android kiosk mode development and retail.
Android kiosk mode development for other industries
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can shoppers exit the kiosk app or open other apps?
No, when the tablet is set up as a dedicated device. The kiosk app runs in lock task mode, so the home and recent-apps buttons are hidden, notifications stay off and other apps cannot open. If the tablet restarts, the kiosk app launches again. Staff can reach a small maintenance screen with a PIN, which offers only the settings you approve.
Can a retail kiosk take payments?
It can, through a payment terminal or your payment provider's SDK, so the kiosk app itself does not handle or store card or UPI details. Many retailers start with catalogue, price check and staff requests, and add self-checkout once the kiosks have proved reliable. Payments add compliance work and testing with the provider, which we include in the estimate.
Can we use tablets we already own?
Often, if they have Google Play services, still receive security updates and support Android Enterprise. Each one must be factory reset and set up again as a dedicated device, because kiosk control is only granted during setup. We test one of each model first; very old or unsupported tablets usually cost more in failures than replacing them.
What happens if the store Wi-Fi goes down?
The kiosk keeps showing a cached catalogue and prices, and queues staff requests until the connection returns. The lock-down rules stay active offline. The console marks the kiosk offline after missed heartbeats and only raises alerts during opening hours, so a router restart at night does not wake anyone.
How do you collect loyalty sign-ups without breaking privacy rules?
The kiosk shows a short notice explaining what is collected and why, confirms the phone number with an OTP and sends the data straight to your loyalty system. Nothing stays on the tablet, and the form clears after inactivity so the next shopper never sees it. This follows the notice-and-consent approach of India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
Next step
Putting tablets in your stores?
Tell us how many stores you have, which kiosk tasks matter and which POS you use, and we will suggest a pilot with an itemised estimate.