Edition Three.
In the business world it seems we love a new word or concept – and “phygital” is no different. Queue the song Let’s Get Physical by Dua Lipa or the classic Olivia Newton-John – Physical. In this blog we take a look at the definitions of two core concepts ‘Phygital’ and ‘Omnichannel’ and discuss the key question – is Phygital an evolution or revolution?
According to Forbes the definition of Phygital is the combination of physical and digital for enhanced experiences.
And the definition of Omnichannel is: omnichannel is a customer-focused marketing strategy that aims to create a seamless experience for customers across all brand touchpoints.
Both terms Omnichannel and Phygital have become essential for modern retailers aiming to adapt to the evolving customer landscape. While both focus on blending physical and digital experiences, they have different strategies and goals.
The Omnichannel approach focuses on creating a seamless customer experience across all channels (physical stores, online platforms, mobile apps, social media, etc.). The goal is to ensure a consistent brand experience, allowing customers to move fluidly between channels without interruption.
Whilst, Phygital emphasises integrating digital experiences directly into the physical environment. It uses digital tools and technologies (like digital displays, interactive screens, and digital kiosks) in-store to enhance the customer experience, merging physical and digital worlds in real time.
Both strategies fundamentally are focussed on delivering an enhanced customer service. Crucial to both is the seamless delivery to the customer. For example, consider a coffee shop and its customers. They would like the option to process the order online, on an app, on the self-serve screen in store or at the counter with each providing a consistent look, method, to be easy to use, a pleasurable experience and consistent – all glued together.
Common sense? We think so. Easy? Certainly not, even with the multitude of technology innovations aimed to support this. The key to unlocking success is to ensure technology is an enabler to meet core objectives rather than technology for technology sakes or following the pack!
Retailers who are succeeding are those who continue to delight and engage their customers through their experiences whilst providing the right product/service at the right price to ensure sustainable revenues and profits. A happy customer drives business growth.
To ensure a successful phygital strategy retailers need to concentrate on enhancing the in-store experience with digital elements to make the experiences more engaging, interactive, personalised, and efficient. Examples of phygital implementations are interactive kiosks, tablets in-store to assist with product information and inventory checks, digital displays from digital walls, signage, and interactive screens. For instance, imagine having a lift and learn installation where customers can lift a product to discover more or the use of location to send special offers when a customer is near a store.
Getting it right delivers benefits to the retailer from enhancing customer engagement and interaction with the brand, differentiating the in-store experience, making it more compelling and memorable and bridging the gap between physical and online shopping, encouraging customers to visit physical stores.
The focus on Phygital demonstrates retailers focus on continually aiming to lead and adapt to the changing customer landscape. While both Omnichannel and Phygital focus on the need for a ‘seamless’ customer experience and blending the physical and digital experiences, Phygital is about the physical shopping experience with digital technology to make it more engaging, efficient and interactive. The retailers that are set for future success are those that combine these strategies to meet the expectations of their digital-savvy customers, using phygital innovations to strengthen their omnichannel approach. Therefore, we conclude that for those innovative retailers who are succeeding are evolving to implementing phygital into their strategy to help revolutionise the customer experience.