LATCHING ON TO an emerging trend for click-and-mortar companies, Framingham, Mass.-based Staples this week announced that Web kiosks are now available in all of the company's 954 physical locations.

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The kiosks make the Staples.com Web site available to in-store customers of the office-supply vendor, a strategy that offers a number of benefits. Many other retailers, including the Kmart Web site, Bluelight.com; Virgin Megastores; Service Merchandise; L.L. Bean; Borders Books; and the Gap are also seeing the advantage of this convenient information resource.

Most Staples stores carry a limited number of SKUs (stockkeeping units) -- approximately 7,500. However, through the store's Web kiosk, customers have access to 45,000 products, 10,000 downloadable software titles, and dozens of business services, the company said in a statement.

In addition, Staples is offering customers the option of paying for online purchases with cash, check or credit card at the physical stores' cash registers.

Web kiosks are gaining ground with retailers because the strategy offers several advantages to click-and-mortar retailers, analysts said.

"I can free up more shelf space for fast-moving items and at the same time be able to offer a wider assortment of products, extending the SKU offering via the Web kiosk," said Gene Alvarez, an analyst at Meta Group, in Stamford, Conn.

In addition, Web kiosks help retailers prevent lost sales when in-store customers learn a product is out of stock.

"If a customer doesn't see what they want in your store, they may go to another store, surf the Web, and not buy from your store in the end," said Joe O'Leary, a partner and U.S. co-lead for Arthur Andersen's customer and channels group. With a content-rich Web site behind them, Web kiosks can also make up for an inexperienced sales floor staff.

"When store associates are not familiar with product categories because they haven't been trained or are inexperienced or are new to the company, a kiosk can help provide product information," Alvarez said. In addition, the kiosks can provide in-store promotions of certain products.

Web kiosks do pose a few challenges. IT organizations need to determine whether or not to make the Web sites live or only available as stand alone islands. For live Web sites, stores need to ensure reliable broadband connections.

Customers who are not technologically savvy may feel threatened by the kiosks, and may need a kiosk ambassador or a sales associate nearby to offer help, analysts said. But with the multitude of benefits available to clicks-and-mortars via kiosks, many other companies are expected to join the kiosk crowd. "We are just seeing the beginning of this," Alvarez said.