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Phygital Retail: From Personalization to Collective Action

Rob Barlow & Matt Johnson

Journal of Macromarketing2026https://doi.org/10.1177/02761467251414839article
AJG 2ABDC A
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Digital retail environments excel at personalization but fragment shared experience into atomized realities. Physical retail provides common context but remains static and non-adaptive. This commentary argues that phygital design offers a synthesis: adaptive responsiveness within shared physical space. By integrating digital capabilities into physical environments, phygital retail can personalize experience while preserving social affordances essential for collective coordination. We develop this argument through the case of sustainable consumption, where phygital systems can make aggregate behavior visible, activate social norms, and narrow the intention-action gap. We conclude by outlining research directions for this emerging market-shaping infrastructure.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/02761467251414839

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{rob2026,
  title        = {{Phygital Retail: From Personalization to Collective Action}},
  author       = {Rob Barlow & Matt Johnson},
  journal      = {Journal of Macromarketing},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/02761467251414839},
}

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Phygital Retail: From Personalization to Collective Action

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.