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Modern innovations like using QR codes to order food at the airport may seem like an all-around positive introduction to society. However, “phygital” experiences such as these that combine physical and digital elements in an act can also have negative implications for consumer well-being.

Bre Mertz, assistant professor of marketing at UTampa, recently examined well-being tensions associated with phygital experiences such as ordering food via QR codes, FaceTime, and Online Health Clinics, to name a few. She, along with a group of co-authors, presented at the American Phygital Association Summit in Paris at the end of February about the “Phygital Well-being Paradox.” 

The “phygital” concept is emerging, Mertz said, and the conference, which brings together experts in the field, is in its second year. 

“As digital and physical realities are converging, a lot of times we’re saying, ‘Oh, we’re offering consumers and brands the best of both worlds.’ But it's not that simple,” Mertz said. “There are complexities or trade-offs.”

Mertz’s research looks at how marketers can offset any negative impacts on consumer well-being, while still allowing for an innovative experience within the eight identified well-being dimensions (physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, financial and occupational). 

Mertz described “tensions” she studies where certain outcomes can contribute to a person's “flourishing” or “withering.” 

“If we could identify those places that are negative, then we can critically evaluate and adjust those design experiences to reduce the depletion of consumer well-being,” she said.

In the example of using QR codes to order food at the airport, a feature that contributes to flourishing is that people don’t have to wait in lines to order when they use a QR code. In contrast, the research found that factors contributing to withering are that the code replaces cashiers, requires a smartphone, and provides no on-site help or ability to answer questions.

At the conference, the group presented its paper to a panel of experts in the phygital space, and they received feedback to incorporate before they officially submit for publication.

The group is also workshopping a paper on consumer experience while wearing biometric devices, specifically Oura Rings, when traveling. They will examine some of the tensions and explore their impact on consumer behavior.

The group aims to have the papers published within the next year. 

Mertz said the group’s work could produce one of the first papers published in the phygital space that has such an emphasis on the care for humans and on consumer well-being.