Toronto based, Pop Up Retail Group, announced today that they successfully launched XM Canada kiosks in mall locations across three markets, and had them selling radios in less than 90 days.

The exact number of kiosks was not disclosed, but the timeline was supposedly aggressive enough to put Pop Up Retail Group's turn key approach to the test.

"Kiosks give us incremental sales, a great brand presence and further support to our existing subscribers," said Donald McKenzie, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at XM Canada. "We are not interested in shifting volume from our valued retail partners. We expect their sales to increase as well in the markets where we have a corporate presence."

I suppose that kiosks must actually work for satellite radio, since they've been using them for so long. But my own anecdotal (and granted, limited) experience is that they're fairly low-traffic and low-key. I love the concept of a focused, branded retail environment - but just think it could be more immersive than just slapping some logos and letting people play with a radio. Even just to include one of those funky car displays (pictured) that are seen in tradeshows - or a variation of them - would be nice to see. The goal not necessarily being on creating a point of sale, but rather a place for people to experience the service.

Just my $0.02.