2020-2021 became the age of digitization. A time when the world realised that it was time to actually implement the digital capabilities, they had but, had kept low-key about. 2022 has exploded this trend and has brought about a massive change.
The global lockdowns ended, and people had a strong desire to interact in person with each other. Experiencing both virtual and in-person marketing became increasingly popular as the world returned to normal.
Like people, brands have their own unique personalities. They have histories, personalities, and relationships with their customers. The relationship between a brand and a consumer is based on their experiences.
Consumers can be quite fickle, those who have a meaningful experience with the brand will be without a doubt loyal but if by some twist of fate, the experience was not what they wanted or expected, be prepared to lose them forever.
Brands soon found that the two-dimensional digital-only experience was not quite hacking it with consumers who had become so much more demanding. Expectations have changed. They want more; more personalisation, more interaction, more personal relevance.
Although the beauty industry was quick to jump on the AI bandwagon offering digital skin analysis, colour matching etc etc they faced the issue that not every digital solution was the right fit for their brand, solutions, claim. A haptic product was still only believable with an on-skin experience. Digital was awesome but could be manipulated – on the other hand with digital, one could learn so much more about the consumer, track their progress, and adapt and offer what was relevant to them. The Phygital came to the forefront.
According to data from EventTrack, 91% of customers are more likely to purchase products or services from a brand after participating in a branded experience (Source) . That brings us to closer to riding the Phygital wave to give effective solutions to your consumers. It is what one can expect and what the trends are that are driving experiential cosmetic industry marketing in the next year.
The psychology of the phygital (Physical + digital) is that when consumers interact with your product, physically and/or digitally they a) are more likely to recall the experience later and b) Develop an attachment to that brand or form an impression of it. Phygital experiences creates a response that triggers the consumers memory and builds a bond between the product and them. Digital and physical touchpoints are used to create better brand experiences, whether that is through convenience, unique value propositions, differentiation, diagnosis or a general appreciation of a product, the results have proven effective.
We’re set to see some beautiful things in 2023. Making an effective digital marketing strategy with physical elements increase profitability and build brand loyalty by tapping into what motivates customers.
Sensory marketing is already a key component in the skin care industry. As a way of generating emotions and stimulating purchase intent, sensory marketing has become a powerful tool for strengthening consumer-brand relationships today. After all Harvard Business Review has already endorsed it – Customers don’t recognize them as marketing and therefore don’t react with the same resistance they have towards more standard advertising techniques (source)