What is the future of marketing in retail?

Holograms and unique brand experiences

With the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing inflation, consumer behavior in the retail sector (and beyond) has changed. They are now focusing on brands that share their values, and their financial choices are based on the interactive experiences that companies offer. The increasing appetite for unique, memorable interactions has given technology and holograms a vital role in the future of marketing in the retail sector.

Recent studies suggest that retailers need to think about marketing strategies for a hybrid future, as consumers want a little bit of both worlds – physical and virtual. his is natural when we think about the promotion of the Metaverse.

According to Euromonitor, global inflation has increased by 6-9% in 2022, compared to an annual average of 3.8% in 2001-2019. The increase in demand for goods, disruptions caused by the pandemic, rising energy prices, and labor shortages have led to significant differences between supply and demand.

Investments in emerging technologies in the retail sector are increasing as a proportion of total spending on information technology (IT).

The holographic market is still growing

Economic trends show that financially, consumers will want to prepare for imminent changes. The desire to resume pre-pandemic habits, to enjoy tactile experiences in stores, has changed the way the retail industry positions itself in front of its consumers.

Now, brands have understood that they have a fantastic opportunity to integrate holograms and focus on the individuality of their customers.

According to Mordor Intelligence, the holographic market will grow by 28.2% between 2018-2028. Holograms are used in all industries where the user interacts more with the brand.

The retail industry has experienced the most accelerated pace of innovation

In retail, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of innovation by 20 years. Trying to reach consumers, brands have wanted to differentiate themselves from the competition by including holograms and new technologies in their promotional strategies.

Holograms offer the future of this industry. According to an EY study, the adoption of technologies and holograms helps the retail segment offer consumers: invisibility, indispensability, and intimacy.

Invisibility: Brands can make consumers’ lives easier by offering predictable solutions – that is, focusing on fast shopping experiences.
Indispensable: Brands meet customer needs through personalized products. For this, they need to integrate technology into their ecosystem.
Intimate: Unique experiences are appreciated by consumers both virtually and physically in stores.

In 2020, all experts saw physical stores as part of history. A Deloitte study from the same year showed that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 60% of retail commercial space in the United States was forced to temporarily close.

According to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, shopping malls in Romania that were closed due to the coronavirus epidemic lost up to 20 million euros ($22 million) per day due to lack of sales. In the same report, the retail stock, which included malls, retail parks, and shopping galleries in Romania, amounted to approximately 3.9 million square meters, of which 23% was represented by supermarkets and hypermarkets, the main category of stores that remained open.

The new situation forced retailers to incorporate experiential spaces that align with consumer requirements and rely more and more on technology. Gamification, a term that marketing has been exploiting, now has a more important role than ever. And all this time, investments in AR/VR technology show no signs of stopping, on the contrary.

The 2022 EY study mentioned above demonstrates that in retail, consumers prefer to navigate between reality and the world offered by technology.

55% of respondents decided not to buy online anymore because they felt they had less control over their purchases;
55% prefer a mix of in-store visits and online shopping;
58% choose large stores where they have a greater variety of products to choose from and thus reduce their visits to the store to once a week.

In Romania, with the support of Holograma 3D, both Unilever and Kaufland have included holograms and video mapping in their activities to offer customers the opportunity to interact in a unique way with the latest products launched or with the entire portfolio and in-store experience.

It is important in retail to offer customers the opportunity to interact uniquely with your brand and products because it helps to create a memorable and engaging experience for the customer. By providing a unique and interactive experience, retailers can stand out from their competitors and build a stronger relationship with their customers. This can lead to increased customer loyalty, repeat business, and positive word-of-mouth advertising. In addition, offering unique experiences can help retailers better understand their customers’ preferences and needs, which can inform future product development and marketing strategies.

Retail can benefit more than any other industry from the advantages of holograms and Dreamoc solutions; companies in this industry have already begun to implement holographic solutions that blend with audio solutions to attract consumer attention more easily.

Brand touchpoints have been exploited through technology because the pandemic required it. For every retail company, meeting its consumer must be unique and interesting. 3D images are colorful and do not require special glasses or VR headsets. And here at 3D Hologram, we have seen an increase in demand for our solutions.
Alexandru Roibu, CEO Holograma 3D

The advantages of holograms in the retail industry

Today, all brands have access to social networks, where the consumer has a voice. According to the same Mintel study, brands have included another factor in their marketing strategy – consumers – as they become co-creators and inspire brands to innovate more. Brands can encourage consumers to be creative and highlight the fact that new products are the result of user feedback.

Fierce competition in the retail sector has forced these companies to turn to innovation and creativity, and holograms have been the prompt response, which is the future of marketing.

What is a hologram and why is it used in marketing?

From a marketing point of view, the hologram is an effective method of increasing consumer curiosity.

Technically speaking, this is a diffraction of light that creates 3D images. A brand will always prefer it because it gives the consumer the opportunity to interact and learn more about the product before purchasing it.

1. Holograms bring creativity and curiosity

Consumers are constantly exposed to advertisements on social networks, in the city or on the Internet.

According to the Mintel Consumer Global Trends 2023 study, consumers want new experiences with their favorite brands and want to have the opportunity to express themselves. Brands play an important role here, helping them to be curious, discover themselves and get to know new habits, new experiences.

Kaufland developed a campaign in which it introduced video mapping, so that the consumer would later have a pleasant experience in the store.

Video mapping is important in retail for several reasons:

Enhancing the customer experience for customers, making them more likely to stay in the store longer and potentially make a purchase;
Highlighting products, making them more prominent and eye-catching for customers;
Creating a unique brand identity for a store, setting it apart from competitors and increasing brand recognition;
Providing information to customers about products, promotions, and other relevant details;
Increasing foot traffic to attract customers to the store, especially during special events or promotions.

2. Holograms offer experiences

Trying to make up for lost time during the pandemic, consumers are looking for personalized services and products. At the same time, there has been an increase in accessing more wellness and health services, precisely to better understand the phenomenon they have gone through and what they can do about it. You may have noticed that in recent years, astrology, for example, has been integrated into many products. This trend is mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As society advances rapidly, consumer trends follow the same trend of change. It is expected that in the retail sector, consumers will adopt a more conscious approach when buying, look for brands that align with their values, and offer sustainable solutions.

For example, Unilever had a campaign in 2020, where it opted for Dreamoc Diamond.

Dreamoc Diamond has the advantage of offering visibility through all four of its sides. Brands prefer it because it is the largest mixed-reality system built so far, which they can use at fairs, launches, malls, etc. In the case of Unilever, consumers were able to learn more about the product and have a memorable interaction with it.

3. Any holographic experience is memorable

Any brand wants to provide memorable experiences, and holograms come with this advantage. Why is it so important to be memorable? Because customer interaction is unique and can be shared online, even going viral.

Conclusion

Man has always been tempted to know the future. The changes that have occurred amid the events of the past three years have led retail brands to turn to innovation and the integration of holograms into long-term approaches to consumers. Today they make choices based on smart consumption, companies that have a purpose and that share the same values.

If you don’t know which port you want to reach, no wind is favorable, Seneca said. It is clear that the future of the retail industry is all about personalized experiences. How can we get them? Through holographic solutions. If we integrate this trend into our approach, with the help of technology and collected data we can anticipate consumer needs.

Since the beginning, Holograma 3D has offered holographic content at the highest standards, with market leaders from Romania and abroad among its collaborators. You can read more details in the previous article .

1 https://www.euromonitor.com/article/what-is-driving-global-inflation
2 https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/holographic-display-market
3 https://www.ey.com/en_gl/consumer-products-retail/how-technology-can-drive-transformation-in-retail
4 https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/retail-distribution/retail-and-consumer-products-predictions.html
5 https://seenews.com/news/stores-at-romanian-malls-closed-over-coronavirus-lose-20-mln-euro-daily-consultancy-693563
6 https://www.ey.com/en_gl/consumer-products-retail/how-technology-can-drive-transformation-in-retail
7 https://www.mintel.com/consumer-market-news/global-consumer-trends/
8 https://www.mintel.com/consumer-market-news/global-consumer-trends/