This trend is so popular that it has been termed ‘phygital’, demonstrating the meaning of bridging the gap between physical and digital via technology.  The phygital experience merges the best aspects of online and offline shopping to create an immersive experience, and for the high street retailer, is designed to bring the physical shopper back instore.

With reports from Springboard showing that in the build up to Christmas 2021, footfall in the London retail precinct dropped 21.3% and figures from further research showing online sales are up 19% and expecting to be contributing to 53% of retail sales within ten years, the need to bridge this gap is imminent.

High street retailers, property owners and councils are keen to invest in the trend.

Even stores which have click and collect in store are considering how to be part of the movement as they have the perfect opportunity to capture and engage with the consumer when they are collecting their purchases and thereby create instant upsell potential.

Digital signage is key to managing the merger and when consumers have an average attention span of just 2.8 to 8 seconds, the content needs to be targeted.  

Introducing the three I’s:
Immediacy – content changes at the exact desired moment to capture the most engagement
Interaction – content enables emotional and physical interaction
Immersion –part of the consumer experience

Solutions such as CleverLive delivers an intuitive cloud platform that enables users the ability to create an immersive experience.

Content can be scheduled to change to suit the existing demographic flow, and with the unique feature of Virtual Buttons to have preset messages targeting a variety of demographics which can be changed by the click of a button from a mobile phone or tablet.  For example - imagine your store is usually frequented by Gen X at 4pm but a busload of Baby Boomers has been dropped off at the end of the street.  Your Gen X content is not going to be engaging, so at the touch of a virtual button, staff can change the content to create the right experience for the Baby Boomers.

A variety of multimedia formats can be displayed from images and videos through to social media which enables the consumer to interact instantly with the content on screen.

Another unique feature from CleverLive is the QR code capability which enables the consumer to scan the screen which opens an interface on their mobile device with up to ten virtual button options to select to view information of their choice.  For example – the screen shows a range of running shoes.  The consumer scans the screen and on their mobile is a virtual button for each brand.  They select the brand they are interested in and more information comes up on the screen.  Then on their mobile a dedicate URL appears which could be an order page to create instant immersion.  What power for the consumer, what an experience!  

This is what phygital is all about and how digital signage is supporting the high street.

For more details contact [email protected].  

https://www.retail-insight-network.com/news/online-shopping-uk-retail-sales/
https://www.marketingcharts.com/industries/technology-2142