3 things retailers need to know about the new marketing channel

“Phygital” is a hybrid marketing channel that captures customer data to deliver a personalized experience.

As the number of online shoppers increases competition in retail, consumer loyalty to their established shopping practices appears to be diminishing. seventy-five percent of consumers said they have tried a new shopping behavior since the start of the pandemic, and many intend to continue with this new behavior, whether buying online or buying from a whole new brand.

In such a competitive market, retailers need to meet the expectations of their offline and online buyers to build customer loyalty, and phygital marketing can be a solution. Here are three things merchants should know about phygital before incorporating it into their marketing strategy:

1. Retailers can improve in-store convenience through phygital marketing

While it’s easy to assume that the rise of online shopping means the end of in-store shopping, this is incorrect. In reality, 46 percent of consumers still prefer to shop in person, even though 63 percent buying journeys start online.

This tells us two things:

1. Consumers always like to physically interact with products. It is important to be able to experience the products directly and to ask for help from the employees on site.
2. Retailers need a digital infrastructure to support their physical stores in a way that connects the online and in-store experience for customers.

Convenience that can entice consumers to shop online is also sought after in stores. Eighty-seven percent of shoppers say they would prefer to shop at stores with contactless or robust self-checkout options. This desire for faster and simplified transactions is taken into account by almost all 75 percent buyers who use automatic checkouts to pay for their shopping.

Retailers and stores like Amazon Go are already building on the convenience of self-checkout by enabling fast digital transactions using QR code technology.

2. Not all phygital solutions meet the same security standards

When choosing a phygital solution, prioritize data security. Consumers trust retailers and businesses that feed their marketing platforms first-party data every time they use a QR code. It is important to secure this data to maintain its trust.

Data breaches are dangerous not only because they compromise data, but because they can take months to follow without the proper security. Adhering to standards like SOC2 compliance helps mitigate these risks. This is especially true in the case of SOC2 because, to fulfill this compliance, a platform must set up alerts for the exposure or modification of data, controls and configurations.

By verifying that your chosen phygital solution implements a rigorous security standard, you can prevent or mitigate the impact of a data leak which, when made public, can erode trust in your brand.

Another way to assess the security of your phygital solution is to incorporate the secure use of the QR code, which should include ensuring that all links contain your site’s root domain and consistent marketing QR codes with logo and your brand colors. These security measures can go a long way in building consumer trust in your brand.

3. Phygital marketing boosts customer engagement with proximity-based tactics

A popular application of phygital marketing is geofencing, which creates digital campaigns within a defined physical radius. Geofencing can be used to provide promotional codes to MQLs as they pass by or even to tell a customer who has placed a pickup order where to go once they enter the immediate area around your storefront.

However, 77 percent of consumers said they feel frustrated when they receive push notifications for promotions unrelated to their interests. This frustration could stem from poorly executed phygital marketing.

Your geofencing strategy should capture the frequency of customer foot traffic and send relevant notifications to past customers and potential customers. This is also why capturing and securing enough data is crucial for geofencing. Having up-to-date data about your customers allows you to deliver impactful push notifications that inspire customers to take action.

Successful execution of phygital marketing can result in provide information to customers, giving timely notifications to passing diners, and even rewarding pre-purchase behavior, such as trying on clothes, to generate a future sale.

Phygital marketing gives retailers the ability to make real-time presentations to customers through their phones. These examples of proximity marketing can be successful because almost half It is estimated that of all e-commerce transactions in the United States have taken place on a mobile device.

Phygital delivers enhanced retail experiences by integrating digital frameworks

The opportunity to improve customer engagement and retention through phygital marketing is real and growing. Online shoppers spent 32.4% more with US retailers in 2020 than in 2019. This may be due to the 98 percent consumers who value ease and convenience more now than before the pandemic.

To succeed, brands must have the tools they need to leverage what they know about their customers through digital interactions to create a more seamless and personalized in-store experience.

delighted Pratap maddimsetty is the Chief Technology Officer of MobStaca physical-to-digital experience management solution.