[Vol.91] Untact marketing is the new normal

Have you ever used a ‘Kiosk’? A kiosk is a small store in a building or on the street where things (such as newspapers or candy) are sold. A few years ago, it was harder to find places with kiosks than places without them, but now it’s the other way around. They are popularized and can be easily found in various places such as department stores, shopping malls, and restaurants. In addition to the kiosk, there are unmanned photo studios such as Photoism and Life’s Four Cuts, artificial intelligence chatbots like Chatgpt, and delivery apps. Like these, the way that users and service providers use without having to face each other is called ‘Untact Marketing’.

‘Untact marketing’ is a compound word ‘un’ and ‘contact’ which means marketing that provides information in a non-face-to-face form by minimizing contact with people. ‘Siren Order’, which is a Starbucks app that allows customers to pick up drinks at stores after ordering and paying in the Starbucks app, ‘Socar’, which is an app-based car rental platform , and other internet banking systems of various banks are all included in ‘Untack marketing’.

Companies are also using untack marketing in diverse fields. Hyundai Motor showcased the Seoul Motor Show live streaming on YouTube, and its new car ‘Kona’ was also unveiled for the first time on YouTube.

Untact marketing is gradually emerging in our lives. This is because more and more single-person households are willing to enjoy comfort alone rather than uncomfortable communication. People aged 20s and 30s often find doing something alone freer and more comfortable, rather than awkward or uncomfortable. In fact, according to the survey about ‘Development in positive and negative sentimental for the word ‘relationship’ conducted by Mobile Hankyung, positive emotions decreased from 40% in 2015 to 27% in 2017, on the other
hand negative emotions increased from 42% to 56% over the same period.

So, what is the reason for the increase in untact marketing? It’s COVID-19. It has been accelerated by the COVID-19 when many were forced to take businesses online and consumers are looking to connect with brands and communities safely. Since 2020, when the transmission of the virus has occurred in collective and face-to-face community activities, the government has refrained from going out and encouraged self-isolation. In the process, lifestyle has been changed to isolate oneself from pollutants in order to protect our health. In addition, many breakthroughs in technology are also seen as the reason for the success of untact marketing. Most of untact marketing is achieved via various new technologies such as AI(artificial intelligence) and AR(augmented reality), using ICT commerce - ICT commerce means that the activity of buying and selling using Information and Communication Technology. For example, the IKEA Place mobile app allows you to place your furniture directly using AR technology. People can look at the size and decide whether to buy or not without measuring the length of the furnitur themselves. In other words, the development of technology makes customers decide to but items based on lots of information, which could increase sales more than before, and the distribution paradigm is changing by reflecting these factors.

We are experiencing a new normal in daily life due to untact marketing. First of all, businesses can reduce business costs by using kiosks and serving robots. This is why more and more stores have unmanned services because even though the initial cost of installing machines is high, they can reduce the burden of monthly labor costs and maintenance costs. But it’s not just a good thing. First, problems can be caused by system errors. Problems that could have been solved immediately if there were people, but in some cases, the machine itself takes more time to solve. The second problem is the ‘Untact-divide’ phenomenon. The untact-divide phenomenon in which people who cannot adapt to the increasing number of untact technologies feel uncomfortable. Elderly people who are not familiar with the digital environment are likely to be victims of this phenomenon.The last one could be job losses. Kiosks and food delivery robots have replaced existing labor market workers, causing job losses. In fact, according to the National Statistical Office and the distribution industry, the number of domestic workers who were employed last year was 2.62 million, down 60,000 from the previous year (Korean economy). It has been decreasing for nine consecutive years since 2014.

As it is now the era of ‘With COVID-19’, the trend of marketing is also shifting from untact to ‘Ontact’. Ontact is a play on untact but refers to the experience of being ‘face-to-face online’, in contrast with untact which means non-face-to- face. If you just hear this, you may not be able to understand what the difference between untact and ontact is. Let’s take a look at some examples. It is ‘untact marketing’ that we buy products from online shopping malls, but it is ‘ontact marketing’ that introduces products in real-time through live commerce and communicates with sellers. In addition, online school opening, video conferencing due to working from home, and BTS’s online concert ‘Bangbang Concert’ are also considered ‘ontact’. The biggest difference between untact and ontact is that in case of ontact, second-hand experiences about goods and services can happen within an online platform, but in case of untact, those can’t.

So why should we focus on ‘untact’ in the era of ‘ontact’? Because, ontact marketing must also be based on untact marketing after all. Furthermore, we can’t go back to the way we did things before, as we know lifestyle has changed due to COVID-19. Just as kiosks have already been commercialized, we continue to use untact marketing services even now, after the end of the COVID-19 era, and we can predict that they will. In addition, due to low birth rates and an aging population, employment is going down, and naturally, the way for sellers to use untact marketing will become more diverse and grow in size.

The shift from untact marketing to ontact marketing is also a change that has occurred in recent years. Advances in science and technology, lots of formation of digital platforms, and increased speed of data processing are making today and yesterday different. As such, the world is changing at a very rapid pace. None of us knows what other marketing methods will come in the future generations. Not only marketing but also how we live. So, how should we look at the world?

Although most people are familiar with technological and machine changes, they must be aware that not everyone in the world can easily adapted to them. To create a more equitable and fairer society, the ‘integration of generations’ will be important, and we must build trust and solidarity. If conversation takes place between generations and even closer cooperation between them could happen based on good will and mutual understanding, more and more people will continue to move forward day by day. And I expect that the benefits of ‘untact marketing’ and, by extension, ‘ontact marketing’ can make the world brighter.

(Image source : unsplash, yna.co.kr)