The paradigm shift from retail stores to “Phygital” space
In past decades, people have been only familiar with the traditional retail store experience extensively, which refers to – buying a product from a physical store through a retailer. However, with technological advancements, smart vending machines have evolved and made their way in the retail world, through its compelling features & offerings. From the initial coin-operated machine to the now-evolved contactless machines, it has made ‘Phygital’ the futuristic approach of the retail industry.
What is Phygital?
Let’s Understand Why Phygital is Referred to As the Future of the Retail Sector
While online commerce continues to dominate the retail space, consumers are also skewed towards the in-store experience, making both online and offline journey unique and equally important. This has created a need for a hybrid system, a synergy of physical experience as well as digital convenience, known as Phygital = Physical + Digital.
According to an article by Forbes, e-commerce is forecasted to account for 24% of global retail sales by 2026, with an appetite for in-store experiences for the remaining 76% of customers. Creating an effective phygital strategy will be essential to win and retain customers and employees in this new retail landscape.
On one side are the physical format retail stores, and on the other side are the digital e-commerce platforms. Being the fusion of technologies that links the virtual and physical worlds, smart vending machines is in the centre phygital space of it. Today, consumers only demand convenience, and this has opened a new horizon for cashless and contactless vending machines in India. While previously, retailers preferred an omnichannel model in-store, they too have adapted to the online culture in order to fulfil the gap created. This journey from Physical to Digital and now the Phygital ecosystem is where the future of retail lies.
It is the future of retail for many reasons. It provides digital, fully automated, contactless solutions like Vendiman’s Smart micro retail kiosk. With the ever-changing technology, convenience will only keep improving with advanced solutions, evidently making Phygital transformation easily adaptable and most desirable.
Key Advancements of Phygital in Enhancing Customer Experience
Being the blend of digital and physical, phygital provides the finest elements from both fronts to the consumer, elevating their overall experience. The consumer has a seamless and quick shopping experience through a digital interface while giving them a store like experience with a wide range of products. It ensures instant gratification with no waiting time or delivery charges unlike in the physical and digital formats.
With phygital, a contactless vending machine offers instant commerce with multiple digital payment options and 24×7 operations.
Best of Both Worlds – Why go Phygital?
1. Enhanced Customer Experience
Going phygital is time-saving, ensures secure and quick transactions and brings the delight of digital shopping with physical interactions.
It enhances the consumer experience by making transactions digital via payment facilities like UPI /E-wallets, meal cards, etc. Streamlining the shopping experience also simplifies the consumer’s journey, making it more convenient for them to interact with your business. More flexibility leads to a better customer experience, more sales, and increased brand loyalty.
2. A Peek into Customer Choices and Resourceful Insights
Data is at the heart of phygital strategy with effective use and integration. Bringing together inventory monitoring, consumption data, customer data in one place, helps retailers elevate customer experience. In other words, Phygital technologies provide you a 360-degree perspective of your consumer. The dashboard data helps attain a clear and relevant customer-centric insight that helps understand and provide better for customers, thereby increasing the productivity and sales of a business.
Vendiman’s dashboard for its smart vending machines or smart micro retail kiosks, provides real time data for efficient inventory monitoring and regular stock refilling.
3. Contactless & Safe
One of the most prominent features of phygital technology is that it is contactless. Smart vending machines in these phygital formats, like Vendiman’s smart micro retail kiosks, are completely contactless with digital payments making the whole process safe and hygienic. These kiosks ensure transactions are made via secured digital wallets or payment methods and are available 24/7, unlike a physical retail store that follows timings and isn’t available all the time.
4. Sales Revenue Boost
Phygital will drive the growth for local businesses as it will not only help attract and retain new customers but also help bridge the digital divide between the organized and unorganized market, offering a level playing field for businesses across scale as it is both cost-effective and convenient for retailers.
Furthermore, by tracking the consumption pattern and analyzing which product gets most liked, can be made available accordingly to amplify sales.
Get a Vendiman Kiosk – Elevate your facility with Phygital transformation
With innovation playing an integral role in every phase of retail development, we are in a time where the phygital ecosystem is the need of the hour and will be instrumental in shaping the future of retail sector. And amidst them, smart retail solutions like smart vending machines will evolve as the most cost, time and space-efficient option for both consumers and business owners.
Sitting between the physical brick & mortar stores and E-commerce formats, Vendiman via its smart micro retail kiosks, is efficiently delivering instant commerce with carefully curated items of everyday convenience via India’s foremost smart micro retail format. Transform your space with Vendiman’s Smart retail solutions, and take progressive steps towards enhancing your facility.
To be a part of the phygital future with a smart micro retail kiosk, e-mail us at – marketing@vendiman.com.
