Herculano CACHINHO, Instituto de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
Jose GASCA ZAMORA, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
Change has always shaped the dynamics of urban retail systems. In the Western world, this has included the internationalization and the concentration of retail industry in a limited number of big corporations, the diversification of retail concepts and formats, and the spatial reorganization of shopping venues. However, more recently, with the development of digitalization, in addition to the traditional changes driven by pure merchants, a new wave of changes brought about by hybrid merchants (click-and-mortar) are revolutionizing retail and consumer environments. So far, there are two fields in which digitalization is most acutely felt: it has fuelled the diversification of distribution channels and affected companies’ supply management strategies. As a result, retail systems are nowadays increasingly hybrid platforms, and shopping practices a phygital experience for an ever-increasing number of consumers.
This research was designed to discuss the phygitalization process that is taking place in the contemporary retail industry. We use the concept of phygitalization to highlight marketplace transformations led by merchants committed to eroding fixity and boundaries between physical and digital reality to create hybrid shopping environments and consumer experiences. In line with recent invitations from consumer culture theory (CCT), we approach the phygitalization of urban retailscapes based on Milton Santos' theory of the two circuits of urban economy, illustrating the problem through examples from Europe and Latin America. The results of the research suggest that phygitalization process is transversal to retail of both economic circuits. However, while in the lower circuit, this takes on a functional dimension, and stems from resistance strategies developed by small retailers, in the upper circuit assumes, frequently, an experiential dimension, and is a product of differentiation strategies implemented by large companies, with a view to conquering new market niches.
Mots clés : Urban retail systems|theory of two circuits of urban economy|phygitalization|phygital shopping places|hybrid retail
A102647HC