Experiential immersion in retail premiers in Colombo at 33S ‘phygital’ store by IC Collection

An ultramodern take on retail that combines the physical and digital worlds where tech-fused shopping experiences bridge new connections between people, brands and retail

Pioneering this shift towards hybrid retail options in Sri Lanka, a new concept store has just been launched presenting phygital experiences. 

Situated in Colombo 4 at the heart of Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, 33S is a one-of-a-kind phygital lifestyle store. Here, a stunning display that becomes a true sensory spectacle in the physical realm is perfectly integrated with technology to push the acts of browsing, experiencing and purchasing products to a whole new level. 

Just a few years ago, the rise of e-commerce seemed to bring on an apocalyptic end to traditional brick-and-mortar retail. Now, the dawn of the phygital generation—that is, the digital natives who have renewed interest in physical connectivity—is clearing a new pathway in the retail landscape. 

This is phygital retail—an ideology that gives birth to real-world stores that use technology to create immersive experiences seamlessly fusing a shopper’s virtual life with their reality. Here, digital technology is not a spectacle, rather a part of discovery, purchasing and consuming. 

This means that it’s not just about how impressive in-store tech can get—but, really about how the digital technology facilitates a much deeper connection between the consumer and the shopping experience.

The ‘phygital’ experience

At the heart of the 33S phygital retail experience, is how you can use the perks of being digitally wired to eliminate what shoppers don’t enjoy in traditional brick-and-mortar retail—like fitting room queues and check-out lines or the inconveniences of handling purchase bags. The idea is to integrate the seamless ease of e-commerce to enhance shopping experiences in real life. 

33S reaches out to its shoppers with a deeply personalised connection from the get-go. As you walk into the beautifully curated store with the latest product ranges, contemporary furnishing from Space Furniture that’s digitally enabled, you’ll see products tagged with unique QR code where the self-assisted shopping begins. 

With the scanner on your phone as your digital shopping assistant to browse through the products using the QR code scan, you are linked to detailed product information from the make, the materials used and designers behind each piece, all accessible through a simple product scan from your mobile phone or using the in-store tablets. 

Staying true to the ‘phygital’ philosophy and honouring the magic of direct human interaction, 33S also has a real-life shopping assistant—this assistant walks shoppers through collection videos and GIFs that give visual cues on how products look on the body or even basics like how to drape a saree. For shoppers who want to see beyond the store display, 33S presents the opportunity to shop a much larger online collection and have it express delivered. 

One of the most popular features at 33S is its social shopping option which allows shoppers to digitally link to their friends, ask for opinions and share styling ideas; it is a clever recreation of the fun, community experience of visiting a store as a group. 33S even handles urgent purchases that can be ordered online and picked up from the store.  Where all this becomes perfectly streamlined with the weightless convenience of online buying is through the smooth bagless shopping service of 33S. This means that shoppers can have their purchases delivered to their doorstep for free as well as facilitate smoother exchanges and return.

Catering to the futuristic retail customer

Business strategy-wise, 33S is a move that really understands the sensitivities of the Sri Lankan market. The store has been a conceptualised as a response to the local market’s evolution influenced by the rising incomes, urbanisation and attitudinal shifts.

The store is built looking from both the international and local perspectives. It is needed to understand what people are ready for psychologically and technologically and try to strike a balance to both inspire the consumer and stay relatable to them, ultimately creating a deeper connection between people and shopping.

Brands housing at 33S

At 33S, wearables by immensely popular online fashion retailers like Fashionmarket.lk, homeware from brands like Urban Island Home and Island Craft and new lifestyle products from labels like Design Colombo are part of the in-store curation. By using a physical location to create a much more immersive brand experience is allowing these mostly-online brands to connect to customers better. 

The creators of 33S believe that the future will only become more phygital and for retail this means ‘click and mortar’. The latest WGSN 2020 consumer reports predicts mass adoption for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences as key drivers further impacting future consumer engagement. It further states that retailers, brands and service providers will need to redesign their assets to live on multi-platforms (mobile, desktop) and surfaces (smart glasses, VR screens). 

The advantages of the omnichannel strategy are not too far-fetched at all. Already in Sri Lanka, in most destinations across the rest of South Asia and most definitely in greater Asia, Europe and North America, mobile infrastructure and integration of mobile payment gateways have pushed fence-sitters to jump on the online shopping bandwagon. That was yesterday. 

Now, customers are not loyal to any channel – online or offline – and they expect a seamless experience like they have in life where transcending in and out the two worlds has become so natural. This experience is what IC Collection has pioneered for Sri Lankan lifestyle retail with 33S. 

33S is a fresh approach to promoting the arts, crafts and designer product that has been designed and made in Sri Lanka celebrating the island’s own signature tropical style in sync with contemporary global aesthetics. Discover it at 33, Lauries Road, Off Duplication Road, Colombo 4. Read more on www.fashionmarket.lk. For more information contact 0114501572.