Ecrit par Fabien
Lecture : 3 minutes
In this post, we are going to inform on a term that refers to a marketing strategy: phygital.
Phygital, what's this strange word? Besides the fact that it can pay off big in Scrabble, this marketing term, which appeared in 2013, is the contraction of the words “physical” and “digital”.
The tools to implement a phygital strategy are diverse and constantly evolving in order to facilitate customer life and offer an immersive experience: interactive terminals, tablets, virtual mirrors, e-booking, click'n'collect, connected barcodes, easy in-store payments, smartphone chargers, live video, etc.
Retail : a unique, digital and immersive customer experience
How many times have you heard, “The physical shops are dead, the Internet and Amazon have killed retail, the brick & mortar don’t know how to innovate”? Retail is not dead, it's time to engage with shoppers:
As a proof, look at these edifying figures from Samsung’s Smart Retail study:
- €518 billion in sales were recorded in physical stores in 2018, an increase of 2.1% compared to 2017.
- 73% of consumers finalize in-store purchases.
- 87% of consumers prefer the point of sale to ensure quality products.
- 77% simply enjoy shopping in physical stores.
- 75% rely on sales advice.
- 68% of french consumers do not want to see the physical shops disappear.
The stores have not said their last word. Retail is not going to disappear but will have to offer a unique, immersive customer experience... a phygital experience!
Consumers expect stores to offer digital services, and 54% appreciating interaction with kiosks and 53% with self-scanning. If it’s not the #PhygitalPower it looks like it.
The point of sale, a key place in the shopping journeys
But that’s not all, we continue with the retail defense arguments: the point of sale remains a key place in the buying process, click & collect has been almost widespread in brands and 63% of customers find it useful. 57% of French retailers offer it (ParcelLab study). The number of consumers starting their online purchase dropped by 10 points (23%).
Should this be seen as a sign of success of the alliance between the different channels? The reassuring side of the physical point of sale and the richness of the digital world? Even Amazon, the American e-commerce giant, is multiplying the opening and creation of new physical stores (Amazon Fresh).
It is clear that stores can no longer, and would be wrong, to ignore the power of digitization and experiential marketing.
Charles Darwinn aurait dit (a little quote to stand out in society is a gift) :
«The species that survive are not the strongest, nor the most intelligent, but the ones that best adapt to change.»
Charles Darwinn
Of course, if they want to compete with the Internet, brands and sales points will have to adapt, work to improve the customer experience and journey, anticipate and understand the new expectations of consumers.
New Retail, a concept used by traditional retailers who want to highlight the fact that they have made the shift to omnichannel and phygital will be THE solution according to Laura Fauduc, marketing and sales director Ali Baba France.
Transform and reinvent the sales spaces to make them places of experience and entertainment especially thanks to "live streaming" this trend of e-commerce that allows to see the product tried and to have the opinions of several influencers, but also thanks to virtual reality… The aim is to streamline the relationship between digital and physical point of sale in order to encourage the customer to stay longer in the store and therefore to consume.
