Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/1472077
New member benefit! Get the ASCP SkinPro app at ascpskincare.com/skinpro 75 R RESEARCH SHOWS THAT CONSUMER SERVICE and shopping habits continue to evolve, both as a result of the events of the past two years and growing reliance on digital formats. How do you engage your clients both physically and digitally to create loyalty? This is the essence of "phygital" engagement, combining physical and digital interactions to create overall customer satisfaction and business success. There are indicators that overall demand for spa services is high, and the spa industry is recovering from the pandemic's impact. 1 In 2021, 91 percent of spas surveyed reported an increase in third quarter revenues compared to the same period the previous year. Spa profits improved in a similar fashion, with 88 percent of respondents seeing a year-over-year increase in the third quarter, 18 percent seeing profits exceed 35 percent, and nine out of 10 spas having a 92 percent increase in spa visits. THE "PHYGITAL" EXPERIENCE The EY Future Consumer Index surveyed thousands of consumers and found that 80 percent of US consumers are still changing the way they shop. 2 Sixty percent are currently visiting brick and mortar stores less often than before the pandemic, and 43 percent shop more often online. So, how do you create the best of both worlds? This is the essence of the phrase "phygital"—the combination of physical and digital for enhanced experiences. 3 Phygital transformation is not an IT strategy. It is how businesses create complementary experiences in the spa or salon while leveraging the efficiency and instant gratification of the digital space. 4 Today, 64 percent of US consumers (and 59 percent of all consumers) feel companies have lost touch with the human element of customer experience, and 71 percent of Americans would rather interact with a human than a chatbot or some other automated process. 5 This is why creating a human-based phygital experience is so important. A phygital experience creates an ecosphere that works symbiotically to deliver truly gratifying interpersonal experiences in the spa while consistently enhancing this relationship with the same community markers in the digital space. Research has found that balancing the spa and digital experience requires a holistic and customer-centric approach. In the spa experience, especially, the human touch remains enormously important, but this is true across the entire retail and services landscape. Elements of this approach include thinking "human first," which means placing the client at the center of all business strategies. Ways to implement this include using the five senses to enhance consumer engagement, sharing and communicating the brand's values by enhancing messaging across different channels, and then creating phygital experiences that attract customers to the physical spa or salon. 6 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0