Consumer Experience in Phygital Environments

Phygital environments blend physical and digital elements to forge richly textured consumer journeys that engage the senses, streamline decision making and foster emotional connection. These hybrid spaces range from smart retail outlets equipped with interactive touchscreens and sensor-driven displays to immersive showrooms that deploy augmented reality overlays and virtual reality walkthroughs. The fusion of tactile, visual and data-driven interfaces invites users to explore products more deeply while gathering real-time insights on preferences, motion and gaze. As companies seek to differentiate themselves, phygital strategies emphasise seamless transitions between online and offline channels, tailored personalisation, and the orchestration of multisensory cues. Global brands are deploying these techniques in sectors as diverse as fashion, automotive and cultural heritage, demonstrating measurable gains in engagement, loyalty and sales. At its core, the study of consumer experience in phygital environments examines how design choices, technological affordances and psychological mechanisms converge to influence perception, satisfaction and decision outcomes.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Research from all publishers

A systematic review of phygital transformation constructs a comprehensive framework for understanding how resources and contexts shape consumer journeys. It identifies four key dimensions—objects and applications, phygital spaces, journey touchpoints and shopping experiences—and maps antecedents, managerial decisions and outcomes to propose avenues for future enquiry. A theoretical account of phygital marketing advantage integrates findings from consumer psychology and neuroscience to explain how digital payment mechanisms reduce the “pain of payment” while physical or simulated product interactions heighten attachment, thereby driving higher conversion rates. The framework unites mechanistic insights on neural reward pathways with practical guidelines on the orchestration of phygital touchpoints. Empirical work on extended reality applications explores how presentation media—photographs, non-immersive displays, augmented reality and virtual reality—affect perceptual responses to product design. Using a semantic differential technique, this research demonstrates that immersive media can accentuate certain attributes, minimise perceptual ambiguity and inform design iterations, underscoring the importance of selecting appropriate visualization channels in early development and marketing phases.

Consumer Experience in Phygital Environments publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in consumer experience in phygital environments across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Phygital environment: A setting that integrates physical and digital touchpoints to create seamless consumer experiences.

Augmented reality (AR): A technology that overlays digital content onto the user’s view of the physical world.

Virtual reality (VR): A fully digital, computer-generated simulation that immerses users in an artificial environment.

Immersive media: Digital formats, including AR and VR, that engage multiple senses to enhance the sense of presence.

References

1. The phygital transformation: a systematic review and a research agenda. Italian Journal of Marketing (2023).
2. Defining the Phygital Marketing Advantage. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research (2021).
3. An Examination of the Relationship Between Visualization Media and Consumer Product Evaluation. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (2024).