Almost in a single day in March final yr, the choice to enter a bodily store was now not accessible to us and we turned to the world of on-line buying. However, with the UK rising from lockdown restrictions, does the bodily expertise of strolling round and buying in a store nonetheless matter as a lot to customers? Is ‘online-only’ going to turn out to be the choice? Or is ‘phygital’ – the place the bodily and digital coincide – the manner ahead? As a outcome of the pandemic, on-line retail gross sales grew by 46% in 2020, in contrast with the earlier yr, and had the largest annual enhance since 2008. Unsurprisingly, meals retailers reported the largest enhance in on-line gross sales of 79.3%, a document annual enhance for the sector. However, all these rises had been arguably led by necessity not alternative.
But as retailers are opening once more, there is a chance for retailers to be greater than a spot to simply buy merchandise – this may be accomplished simply on-line. Shops, as an alternative, can turn out to be the vacation spot for experiences, leisure and real-life connections. Research has proven that 46% of customers nonetheless desire to buy in individual, and even the LVMH CFO has stated the retailer expertise is one thing that can’t be matched on the web. However, at the similar time we additionally need the immediacy, ease and pace that digital commerce can supply us, with analysis discovering that 63% of buying journeys begin on-line. So, what does ‘phygital’ imply for manufacturers, and who’s doing it? Ultimately, phygital might be outlined as the creation of a blended buyer expertise the place each the bodily and digital coexist in the similar journey. It takes the greatest features from every area to create a way more holistic, satisfying and distinctive buyer expertise that leaves a long-lasting impression for manufacturers. From digital, you may take the immersion, immediacy and pace, and mix it with the brick-and-mortar human interplay. Phygital isn’t nearly enhancing buyer expertise and driving gross sales. For instance, if accomplished nicely, it might probably seize shopper buy conduct to create a extra holistic view of your shopper. It may also drive model engagement and consciousness, and even create new media alternatives. Amazon Fresh (UK): a recent, new enterprise mannequin Amazon Fresh opened this yr in West London, its first UK retailer. Simply, Amazon Fresh permits customers to buy and go away with out scanning objects or queuing to pay, however crucially it makes use of the Amazon app as the conduit to carry the bodily and digital expertise collectively. Customers enter by scanning a QR code from the app, and cameras and sensors monitor what objects they’re choosing up all through the retailer, putting them in a digital cart. However, the relationship between the retailer and app actually comes into its personal when customers go away the store – they’re charged through their Amazon account and emailed their receipt. There is not any must queue or to set-up something new – all you want is your Amazon account accessible through the cellular app and also you’re able to go. This is a superb instance of leveraging current digital infrastructure that customers are conversant in and use extensively, in a bodily setting to make their expertise slicker and faster. This mannequin additionally offers Amazon a larger pool of buy knowledge to research and leverage, and in the end inform future advertising and marketing methods. Glossier: it’s not nearly gross sales, it’s an opportunity to ‘meet’ the model Glossier is one other nice instance of a model that was born on-line however has developed to create a bodily vacation spot that brings to life its values. Its New York flagship provides up the final bodily expertise that makes every buyer really feel an element of the Glossier group – it’s the alternative to ‘meet Glossier in actual life’. From a shopper gross sales journey perspective, it has created its personal point-of sale system that enables customers to start out an order in-store and full it on-line later, making a extra singular view of the shopper. However, I feel extra apparently, it has additionally considered how this bodily retailer can assist assist its advertising and marketing groups and assist encourage customers to create social content material for them – and for this, it has created a devoted room to encourage content material creation! This reveals that phygital experiences don’t simply must be about driving gross sales, however can assist drive model engagement, consciousness and media alternatives, particularly by earned or influencer worth. Glossier doesn’t must create a bodily retailer to drive gross sales (it’s valued at over a billion {dollars}), however realized the advantages of in-store expertise stretched far wider than simply gross sales alone. What does this imply for the future, and the way can manufacturers get began? Digital and bodily retail nonetheless have their particular person deserves – we search bodily experiences, however we’re additionally changing into reliant on digital expertise. One shouldn’t low cost or make the different out of date; when mixed in the proper manner, they will make a shopper’s life that a lot simpler – and thrilling! Taking all this into consideration, to kick-start your phygital technique, there are some preliminary steps manufacturers can take into consideration: Understand the knowledge you’ve and really want. Recognizing your viewers and their present experiences is essential. Leveraging what you already know and capturing additional first-party (and even zero-party) knowledge from customers will assist inform the place the addition of bodily or digital parts can actually make the impression that they’ll keep in mind. Utilize current infrastructure. Involving channels (instore, app, on-line and so on) that you have already got – and that customers perceive – is a superb place to start out and might improve and make their expertise much more seamless. Amazon has proven to nice success that utilizing its infrastructure helps to create a extra holistic view of the shopper and permits to seize additional knowledge and focus its efforts on media concentrating on. It additionally ensures a easy and straightforward shopper journey primarily based on channels the prospects already acknowledge. Messaging is essential. Ensure constant messaging throughout each channel that your model is represented on – customers want to really perceive your model values and, regardless of whether or not on-line or offline, it should be clear what you stand for. 64% of customers say that shared model values are the main motive they’ve a relationship with the model. The remaining step is to then perceive what’s the artwork of the doable in-store and on-line. CornerShop , a Capgemini, SharpEnd and The Drum Labs partnership, has been designed as a dwell testing setting for manufacturers, retailers and customers to get hands-on with the newest applied sciences that reimagine the buying expertise throughout foods and drinks, cosmetics and trend. To try to uncover what phygital appears like on this post-Covid-19 world, manufacturers should proceed to grasp the altering shopper panorama of right this moment, and the way the proper technique and innovation can allow new methods to evolve a extra blended buyer expertise. They additionally want to make sure that the experiences they do ship are embedded with their core values. This in flip will assist to enhance in-store and on-line operations and permit customers to rediscover the pleasure of in-person retail, even when it does look barely totally different than earlier than. Jessica Goldesgeyme, marketing consultant, Capgemini Invent
https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2021/08/10/phygital-the-future-retail