In the article What is phygital clothing? we introduced you to the concept of phygital and told you why the transition to the metaverse would be impossible without the use of phygital concepts. So if you missed this article, come back and read it.
Here we will talk about phygital fashion trends, namely the most popular and promising technologies in this area.
According to the IBM US Retail Index, the pandemic has accelerated the transition from physical stores to digital shopping by about five years. However, as many as 80% of consumers say they are missing at least one aspect of traditional in-store shopping, and about a quarter agree that online retailers are either “not doing enough to interact with them” or that these merchants “Want their money and don’t care about their satisfaction.”
The old methods of “updating product cards on the site and adding new items from the upcoming collection” are no longer enough, and in order to purchase a client, you need to surprise and impress.
Many consumers come not even with an urgent need to buy something specific to cover their nudity, but to enjoy, experience, and be inspired by shopping. Fashion is emotions.
And phygital technologies open up new facets of interaction between brands and customers. They can help companies bridge the gap between online and offline channels, and customers can choose what works best for them at the moment.
How to use phygital?
Already today, there are a lot of tasks that phygital technologies can solve.
Immersion in virtual reality is an undeniable trend. And fashion brands are already actively beginning to explore new opportunities.
Phygital clothing style, showing a new collection, getting to know the brand, various backstages, and much more – you can integrate digital format, virtual or augmented reality into everything.
Thanks to the full immersion that virtual reality provides, the brand can better immerse the client in the created atmosphere and get very good engagement.
Let’s take a closer look: in the modern world, we have reached such a level of content consumption that we have developed clip thinking. When browsing content in social networks, feeds, and search engines, we very rarely hold our eyes on something for a really long time. To hook the user and show him more than 10 seconds of your video, you need to create something incredible that causes a wow effect.
Virtual platforms allow you to fully capture the attention of the viewer. The moment a client puts on virtual reality goggles, the real world ceases to exist. A digital space opens up for him, in which he immerses himself in a maximum way, it captures all his attention without a trace.
This is not the first time that Balenciaga has presented its collections in the digital space and is widely publicized.
Balenciaga Afterworld
The fashion house Balmain has used virtual reality to immerse the client in the creative process of creating their collections, thereby conveying the unique creative atmosphere of the brand.
A mixture of virtual and real experience is also actively used. Brands combine the presentation of the new collection in physical reality, supplementing with some virtual elements that the client can watch through the smartphone screen or interact with digital clothing models after watching the main show.
At London Fashion Week, one of the shows ended with a catwalk of a digital model. The real Adwoa Aboah model was pre-digitized in 3D and broadcast on the runway at the end of the show so that each viewer could watch through the screen of their smartphone as she walks down the runway in one of the designer’s looks.
AR Technology
AR technologies stimulate purchases and make online shopping even more convenient. For example, ASOS’s See My Fit tool lets shoppers see what products look like in different sizes and body types, while L’Oreal’s click-to-try tool lets users test makeup and hair colors virtually.
Although the trend toward virtual reality is gaining momentum, consumers are reluctant to change their behavior and explore NFT fashion and 3D clothes, so it all depends on how valuable the virtual reality experience will be to get them to change habits and try something new.
For brands, phygital technology offers new ways to create a personalized, more emotional experience with consumers by bringing products, services, and values to life. And given that 80% of people are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer a personalized experience, immersive virtual reality technology provides a new way to stand out and make customer relationships deeper and more effective.
