Seizing the Opportunity of Phygital Customer Experiences

marcadorsmarketing
Aug 31
2 min read

In today’s fast-moving business landscape, customer journeys are no longer linear. They are a blend of physical and digital touchpoints that must work together to create seamless, memorable experiences. At Marcadors, we believe this convergence—what Gartner calls “phygital experiences”—is where brands will win the next decade.

Why the Phygital Shift Matters

Customers no longer distinguish between digital and physical interactions. A retail shopper might browse online, visit the store for a tactile experience, then complete the purchase via an app. Similarly, a B2B decision-maker might attend a physical trade show but later engage with your digital whitepaper or book a demo online.

Bridging this gap isn’t just a trend; it’s a strategic necessity:

Understand current behavior: Where do your customers already engage with your brand across digital and physical channels?
Create intentional phygital experiences: Identify moments where digital can enrich physical, and vice versa.
Enhance both journeys: Use physical touchpoints to strengthen digital relationships and digital tools to streamline physical experiences.

Past, Present, and Future of Customer Journeys

According to Gartner, customer journeys have evolved across three key stages:

Past: Digital and physical experiences existed in silos. Brands managed them separately, often leading to disjointed journeys.
Present: Digital and physical intersect, but gaps remain. Customers experience friction where the two don’t align.
Future: Hybrid behaviors normalize. The gaps shrink, and multiple points of intersection ensure a true phygital journey where customer expectations are consistently met.

What This Means for Marketers and CX Leaders

Claudia Ratterman, Gartner Director Analyst, notes:

“Digital detoxing will push CMOs to rethink strategies, shifting budgets offline. As audiences unplug, meet them with engaging, real-world experiences that seamlessly blend the physical and digital.”

This means:

Brands must balance budgets across online and offline channels.
Real-world experiences (events, in-store activations, pop-ups) will regain importance.
Digital extensions of physical interactions (QR codes, AR, apps, seamless checkout) will make the experience complete.

Action Points for Brands

Audit Your Current Journeys – Map both physical and digital touchpoints. Identify where hand-offs break.
Design Phygital Moments – Use digital tools to enhance in-person events (event apps, instant feedback forms, QR-based engagement).
Reimagine Offline Channels – Treat physical activations as content engines, amplifying them digitally.
Train Teams for Consistency – Sales, marketing, and customer service must deliver unified experiences across channels.
Measure Impact Holistically – Don’t measure online and offline separately. Track how one influences the other.

How Marcadors Helps

At Marcadors, we specialize in bridging storytelling with strategy. Whether it’s digital-first campaigns, offline activations, or PR features that merge credibility with visibility, our approach is always phygital at the core. We help brands design experiences that feel natural, connected, and conversion-driven.

Final Word

The brands that thrive in the coming years will not be the ones that simply excel in digital or dominate offline. They will be the ones that seamlessly merge the two, creating journeys where customers feel seen, engaged, and empowered at every touchpoint.

At Marcadors, we call this phygital excellence—and it’s the opportunity of the decade.