Methods and apparatus for providing an easy return, exchange and purchasing experience in a retail store environment

A kiosk system adapted for purchase, return and exchange of at least one purchased item configured to initiate at least one process based on a user input in relation to one or more items, a self-operating networked kiosk comprising:

• a touch screen for receiving at least one input from at least one user, one or more processor, a communication unit, at least one sensor, a distributed ledger and a memory unit in which a set of computer-executable instructions are stored;
• the one or more processor coupled to at least one display unit having at least user interface, at least one input unit, the communication unit, the at least one sensor and the memory unit, wherein responsive to executing the instructions, the processor performs operations comprising:
• receive an input from a user, via the at least user interface, wherein the input includes at least one action to be performed in relation to the item;
• capture raw data related to the item via at least one sensor through a vision module and store the raw data in the memory unit;
• an optical character recognition (OCR) engine configured to identify primary data from the raw data based on at least one predefined parameter and store the primary data in the memory unit;
• an AI module configured to:
• retrieve the raw data and primary data from the memory unit;
• generate a second fingerprint data based on the primary data and the at least one predefined parameter;
• identify at least one first block having a first fingerprint data related to the item, wherein the first block is stored on a networked distributed ledger;
• and
• create a second block including the first fingerprint data and the second fingerprint data at every change in custody of the item on the networked distributed ledger.