Editors’ Parting Thoughts: Retrospective and Prospective

Abstract

In this editorial, we provide an overview of the evolution and impact of the Journal of Interactive Marketing (JNM) over the past few years, identify the topics that have gained prominence during our editorship, articulate what it takes to publish in the journal, and offer our perspectives regarding some emerging areas of research in the interactive marketing domain. We draw on the insights garnered from over 2,000 editors' reports we have authored since December 2020.JNM has played a central role since 1987 in promoting and disseminating academic research focused on interactive marketing. Interest in interactive marketing continues to grow, particularly because of the expanding presence of the internet in all aspects of our lives. When the internet was conceived in 1969 (then known as ARPANET), the last thing on anyone's mind was that it would evolve to essentially become a business and marketing platform. Now, we are on the threshold of a transformation to a "phygital" world, where our physical world is integrated ever more closely with the digital world, facilitated by various devices such as computers, mobile phones, and sensors. The intertwining of the physical and digital worlds could make our lives richer, easier, and perhaps more complex. An action in one realm can trigger corresponding changes in the other realm. For example, an Uber ride triggers a parallel set of changes in the digital world that can be viewed via a cell phone. Dyson CleanTrace technology captures real-time augmented reality (AR) visualization of the areas cleaned on a mobile phone mounted to the vacuum cleaner and allows users to quickly locate any spots missed while cleaning. The action of pressing the "Buy" button online triggers a delivery process in the physical world, perhaps even a direct delivery via a drone. Our avatar is a "digital twin" of our physical self that represents us, and can eventually act on our behalf, in the digital world. Further, the internet's 2D flat screen presence is morphing into spatial computing that offers market actors immersive 3D presence such as virtual reality (VR), AR, and the metaverse. Immersive 3D promises to render smoother transitions between our physical realm and the evolving digital realms. As the phygital aspects evolve, they will transform how we interact with others, and with the marketplace, regarding all aspects of the marketing process. The very nature of the exchange process and customer experiences that are at the heart of marketing will also evolve.At JNM, we focus on publishing articles related to technologymediated and data-driven interactions between consumers, firms, and the marketplace, and their effects on outcomes such as marketing strategies and tactics, consumer decisions, privacy, customer and societal well-being, business performance, industry dynamics, and public policy. JNM aspires to play a visible role in promoting and disseminating academic research that explores the emerging roles and effects of marketing in the phygital world. Recent Developments at JNMIn the pa...