Advertising Age ran an article today detailing a new P&G Oil of Olay program designed to “enhance real-world Wal-Mart shopping with web tools.” Based on the performance of the brand’s Olay for You online product recommendation program, P&G decided to pilot the interactive model in Wal-Mart stores. The site’s metrics are impressive: over one million unique visitors since January with an 80% survey completion rate and an average of 8 minutes per user, per visit.

The article goes onto to state:

“Wal-Mart Stores has begun testing an in-store version of Olay for You via kiosks in stores, marking the latest of several efforts in which offline retailers are looking to tap the convenience and functionality of online tools, such as search and recommendation engines, to improve the often-annoying offline shopping experience.”

Is this a watershed moment in digital marketing? I’m clearly overreacting to the statement above, but I was surprised to see offline shopping positioned as ‘often-annoying’ as I thought that reference was reserved for the online shopping experience… but are we now entering a new phase in commerce where the lessons, tools and interactivity honed from the best online experiences are now finding their way into our physical commerce experiences? It makes sense. Search and customer recommendations – physically inline – are much more likely to lead consumers to the products they need and want.

In-store kiosks are not a new idea of course, but as consumers become more and more comfortable – and reliant – on technologies that make decision-making easier, marketers will have to continue to blend virtual and physical experiences that seamlessly connects the brand to the consumer on her terms.