Consumer attitudes towards the buying process have changed.
Combining the online shopping experience with that at the point of sale is essential to offer a continuous and consistent shopping experience across all available channels.
An omnichannel, fluid, hybrid shopping experience. Phygital indeed.
But how to do it?
What does a Phygital experience consist of?
Several researches have shown that today any consumer is looking for a personalized experience, tailored for him, not the same as that offered to everyone else. Companies are therefore investing time and money so that their customers, interacting with them online, can be interested in their products and start a dialogue with the brand, which must then be deepened and nurtured (inbound marketing) and at the same time differentiated in the channels.
The phygital phenomenon is based on three essential elements, the so-called three “i’s”:
- immediacy
- immersion
- interaction
Immediacy is essential, as the customer expects things to always happen in real time. Immersion is that emotional component that makes the customer feel part of the experience he is living. In reference to the physical dimension, it is necessary to raise the level of interaction with the products.
A customer experience, to be truly phygital, must combine all these components, combining the immediacy of the experience and the immersion of the user typical of the digital world with the interaction, prerogative of the physical experience . For this combination to be possible it is necessary that:
- a technology is introduced into the physical space that plays the role of facilitator to ensure immediacy and immersion
- in the online space, tools are used that favor interaction between consumer and product or between consumer and company
Technology for a Phygital experience
A good starting point is to provide a single, coherent and updated communication on all channels of the customer journey, with a storytelling with a strong emotional impact, which effectively conveys the values of the brand and creates synergy between the purchasing channels.
The digital signage display and totems are ideal for providing the digital experience within the point of sale. Just think that the dynamism of the digital represented on an ecommerce site, with promotions and purchase coupons, can be immediately matched with what is shown on the network displays placed inside the store.
With multimedia totems, equipped with large displays, or new generation touch displays with advanced integrated recognition and payment peripherals, the store becomes digital, and provides perfect integration between online and offline in a perfectly customized experiential environment.
The touch surface of the display together with any peripherals for printing and reading magnetic cards, offers the customer the “self-service” function, with which he can continue his purchase path started online, confirming for example the correct size of a item of clothing, adding an accessory seen directly in the store and requesting delivery directly to your home.
In practice, a search started online can be perfected and concluded at the point of sale.
Also, by adopting digital signage systems for communication, modern entrance reservation systems or test products such as Kiosk Buk, the platforms of ecommerce integrated with platforms of inbound marketing like HubSpot, it is possible to build a bridge between the digital and physical world without penalizing any type of buyer, giving that immediacy, that immersion and that involvement to which buyers today are increasingly accustomed.
In practice, the care and attention to the customer are translated into procedures and digital tools with which to inform and support the customer along the making of the purchase decision.
With the right ecommerce platform and an inbound marketing platform like Hubspot, it is possible to provide the customer with the same high quality service, with an almost human touch, and make them live a rewarding and special experience.
The value of the data to improve the shopping experience
However, not everything is always as simple as it seems. One problem that has been highlighted by Microsoft is the decrease in consumer attention.
The study revealed a drastic decrease in the ability to sustained concentration: a duration dropped to 8 seconds compared to 9 for a goldfish, with the consequence that consumers have developed a better ability to identify what really interests them.
So the new way to go, if you want to continue to have an audience interested in our products, requires an ability to surprise them and adapt to the way they live.
Here the data acquires an ever deeper and more significant meaning. This is why a normal website or a social strategy, however coordinated, is no longer enough.
Flexibility and adaptability to combine physical and online stores
It is clear to everyone how traditional retail is under pressure from the increasingly widespread services offered by ecommerce platforms.
However, thanks to technological solutions, such as interactive totems and videowalls, even the physical store is destined to evolve, also becoming a new communication and interaction channel, able to continue or start a personalized shopping experience started elsewhere.
In this context we have seen many changes also at the level of organization of the spaces; we have seen it in Hugo Boss stores or in the new bank branch concepts.
The important thing is to always provide unique experiences.
Phygital stores
In Phygital stores, customer involvement is also achieved by inviting them to live experiences that they cannot find elsewhere and that cannot be replaced by online shopping.
Examples are the Levi’s Store in Times Square where customers are given the opportunity to make the items purchased unique with customized writings and graphics.
In the Magnum Pleasure Store in Singapore , customers can customize their ice cream, using their smartphone, on which all possible flavors and toppings will appear.
Rose Bikes, a German manufacturer of bicycles and accessories for cyclists, offers its customers the opportunity to start their bike on the website and finish the configuration in the physical store.
There are still many more examples. All with a common element, namely the intent to create unique experiences, capable of strengthening the relationship between brand and customers.
Let’s see an example with interactive technology.
Rebecca Minkoff’s digital dressing room
Rebecca Minkoff installed touch displays in the Soho store in New York. The customer, by touching the interactive display, can see videos of fashion shows, photos of the clothes, fashion shows and communication activities of the brand directly in the dressing room where he is wearing the selected garment. Using the touch screen, you can choose other garments to try on, communicate with the stylist to have them worn, or ask for accessories to combine.
Everything that the customer is saved on the customer’s smartphone, and remains accessible through their whishlist.
In the experience of the Soho store in New York, this has made it possible to triple sales, intervene and modify the collection following the preferences and combinations suggested by customers, help sales assistants, plan advanced marketing activities, targeted as well as collect a mass of fundamental data for analysis and strategies.
Conclusions
It is necessary to offer consumers something continually different, to build fluid “customer journeys”, made up of “click and bricks”, to sell emotions and experiences that are always new and possibly differentiated by using the integration between physical and digital channels appropriately.
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Would you like to know more?Our team of experts is available to learn about your business challenges and implement an effective omnichannel strategy. Talk to our account. |
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Would you like to know more?Our team of experts is available to learn about your business challenges and implement an effective omnichannel strategy. Talk to our account.
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