Find out how big brands are combining online and offline experiences to delight consumers
With the advancement of e-commerce, consumers are increasingly adapting to the routine of shopping online. But that doesn't mean that physical stores' days are numbered. On the contrary: the idea that has been gaining strength is to combine the best of these two worlds and delight customers in phygital retail.
The word phygital is the combination of physical and digital in English, a combination that defines the fusion between online and offline experiences to bring the greatest possible satisfaction to the consumer — always using technology to bring these two worlds closer together.
This term has become popular in the areas of marketing and retail, and is based on the principle that if consumers — especially younger and more connected ones — are making less of a distinction between physical and online stores, it makes more sense for companies to integrate these two consumption experiences.
An example: today it is common to see people walking through a store and taking out their cell phone to search for more information about a product they are interested in, or to compare its price and characteristics with similar ones.
The opposite is also true: many people find out at home, on the internet, about what they want to buy, but like to go to the store to see and try it out. There are even people who go home and buy that same item online.
The idea of phygital, therefore, is to combine the best aspects of the physical and digital consumption universe to create an integrated experience for consumers (and bring new sales opportunities for retailers).
To achieve this, some of its main strategies are allowing customers to choose how they want to buy (such as paying online and picking up in store), using augmented reality and virtual reality so that people can try out a product and using social media to create a showcase digital.
Examples of phygital
Some retailers are already using phygital to make customers' lives easier. A very basic example are restaurants and cafes in which people can place their order on a touch screen or even in the app, before arriving at the store. In China, KFC went further and used facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence to “read” customers’ faces, predict what each one would want and offer customized menu options according to their tastes.
In the United States, Amazon created a physical store in which customers are identified at the entrance by reading a QR Code at the turnstile, make purchases and leave without going to the checkout — payment is made directly to the card registered in their Amazon account , so no one wastes time in line.
Nike's New York concept store has a similar system, as well as other phygital experiences. One of them is to allow the customer to create their dream sneakers on a touch screen interface and, in 1h30, take their creation home. For those in a hurry, simply choose the product in the app and, when you arrive at the store, it will be waiting in the fitting room or in special lockers for collection.
In the field of marketing, a popular application of phygital is QR Codes in printed advertisements (such as those in magazines and newspapers) which, when scanned on a cell phone, provide more information to people about a specific product or service.
In Brazil, C&A linked the store to social media with racks whose hangers show, on a small screen, how many likes the pieces are receiving on Facebook — all in real time. In this integrated strategy, consumers can search for pieces online, like them on social media and buy in a physical store.
What these experiences have in common is the fact that they meet the three principles of phygital: the immersion of consumers in an experience; the agility to deliver the message at the right time and quickly meet people's desires and the interaction, which allows customers to touch, feel and engage with the products.
