Here’s how to deliver a powerful, personalized beauty shopping experience (with AI)

• 26 Jun, 2023
• by Ivona Androic

In the fast-paced world of beauty retail, creating a seamless and personalized shopping experience is essential to meet customers’ evolving needs. 

And you can do that by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI), thus delivering a truly immersive and personalized beauty shopping journey. 

In this article, we explore the key aspects that contribute to this experience and how AI is revolutionizing the way we shop for beauty products.

Personalized beauty: seamlessly integrating online and offline experiences

To achieve a truly personalized beauty shopping experience, brands must embrace and seamlessly integrate both online and offline channels. Because when it comes to personalization in beauty, this should no longer be an “offline (in-store) vs. online” debate. 

By combining the best of both worlds and embracing an omnichannel approach, beauty brands can create a cohesive and immersive journey for their customers.

Online platforms can offer convenience, a vast product selection, and cutting-edge technologies such as virtual try-ons and diagnostic tools. These features allow customers to explore and experiment with products from the comfort of their homes. 

On the other hand, offline experiences provide the tactile element that many customers still desire when it comes to beauty products. Plus, research shows that one in four adults typically visits a store to test a product before buying it.

And ultimately, the key is to ensure that these channels integrate seamlessly, allowing customers to transition effortlessly between online and offline experiences. For example, a customer may discover a product online, virtually try it on, and then visit a store to physically test it or seek expert advice before making a purchase. This holds true especially when it comes to premium and luxury beauty and personal care products.

Therefore, to cater to these preferences, beauty brands should invest in both online and in-store AI technologies, such as virtual try-ons and diagnostic tools. 

This is something that, for example, Sephora’s UK store did, featuring innovative AI and AR solutions in both online and offline channels, cohesively integrating these two worlds.

Empowering personalized beauty: virtual try-on unleashed

As we’ve mentioned above, virtual try-on is one of the cutting-edge AI technologies that has become indispensable when talking about personalization in beauty and the cosmetics industry. 

With a virtual makeup try-on, customers can explore different makeup looks at their convenience – and on their favorite channels, be it an app, webshop, or any other. With just a few clicks, they can see how any product they desire fits their unique features, creating their own personalized looks with ease. 

This revolutionary technology puts the power in the hands of the customers, allowing them to try and experiment with various products, anytime and anywhere they choose. From testing lipstick shades to experimenting with eyeshadow palettes, virtual try-on revolutionizes the way individuals explore and discover their perfect makeup match.

Here’s what it looks like in practice:

At Visage Technologies, we are proud to offer one of the best solutions for your brand’s needs. Our state-of-the-art Arbelle makeup|SDK empowers you to deliver a one-of-a-kind shopping experience to your customers.

With us and Arbelle, you can count on: 

• seamless integration with existing platforms 
• highly accurate tracking and rendering
• lightweight technology ensuring smooth real-time performance
• realistic virtual representations of physical products
• extensive customization options 
• compatibility with a wide range of devices

Beauty refined: the art of personalization through skin tone analysis

Skin tone analysis is taking on a pivotal role in revolutionizing the beauty shopping experience, offering a level of personalization that was previously unimaginable. 

Thanks to advanced AI algorithms, the process of studying customers’ skin tone, facial features, and unique characteristics has been taken to new heights. These algorithms have the incredible ability to detect subtle differences like undertones, complexion, and specific features, allowing them to suggest makeup products that are best suited for each individual. 

By using this technology, beauty brands can now offer a truly personalized shopping experience, boosting customer satisfaction and fostering brand loyalty. 

This means no more guessing or trial-and-error. With skin tone analysis, customers can confidently choose products that enhance their natural beauty, encouraging self-expression and instilling a sense of empowerment.

Skin tone analysis coming soon to Visage Technologies! Stay tuned and contact us to be the first to try it out!

Face shape detector: streamlining product selection

Traditionally, finding products that suit an individual’s face shape involved taking lengthy surveys or quizzes. And these were usually pretty tedious, so customers would, more often than not, lose patience. 

Abandoning their shopping journey was, therefore, a much more often occurrence. Because customers don’t usually want to spend two, three, or more minutes answering questions and filling out surveys. 

But AI-powered face shape detectors have transformed this process, making it much faster, more convenient, and accurate. 

By simply analyzing facial features and structures, AI algorithms can swiftly identify a customer’s face shape, enabling you to streamline your product selection and offer customers tailored recommendations. 

With it, customers are able to determine their face shape within seconds and then effortlessly find beauty items that complement their face shape.

This not only saves them time but also ensures that they find products that truly enhance their unique features, contributing to a personalized and satisfying beauty experience.

The rise of social commerce

Social commerce has emerged as a game-changer in the beauty industry, transforming the way customers discover and purchase products. And with the help of AI and AR technologies, it goes a step further in delivering personalized experiences. 

But why is that so? Why is social commerce becoming so relevant?

Well, mainly because consumers today trust recommendations from people they know and influencers they follow. So, by incorporating social commerce into their strategies, you can tap into the expertise and authenticity of individual or micro-influencers. This way, your brand can foster trust and provide personalized product recommendations to its target audience. 

And now, augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are taking social commerce a step further. With them, shoppers can now visualize products on themselves and solicit feedback through social media tools. 

This integration of AI and AR technology within social commerce creates an immersive and interactive experience for customers. This way, they can explore, try on, and share their beauty journeys in real-time.

We can say, therefore, that the combination of social commerce, AI, and AR offers a new dimension of personalization, ensuring that customers feel seen, understood, and engaged throughout their beauty shopping experience.

And what’s even more significant is that for younger generations, such as Gen Z, social commerce is becoming the norm when it comes to shopping. It’s something they expect and the main way they’ll buy and interact with a brand. 

So, if you fail to embrace this emerging trend, you risk losing out on valuable customer engagement. But if you’re still not ready to jump on this bandwagon, your customers will expect at least your e-commerce channels to include some AR tools and technologies.

Now, let’s see some hard facts and statistics surrounding the growth of social and e-commerce in the beauty industry. 

➥ The power of personalization in beauty: statistics and insights

• According to L’Oréal’s 2022 annual report, the beauty market has experienced significant growth in online cosmetics sales, with a global increase of 7% in 2022 alone. 
• Moreover, e-commerce now accounts for 27% of the overall beauty market, which is an increase from 25% in the previous year. 
• Additionally, the global social commerce industry is projected to reach a staggering $1.2 trillion by 2025, growing three times faster than traditional e-commerce.
• We can see that the significance of online channels in beauty retail is on the rise, to say the least. And if there’s something to learn from these numbers, it’s that incorporating social or e-commerce strategies is more important than ever if you want to remain competitive in the ever-evolving beauty landscape.

Personalized beauty product recommendations: harnessing the power of facial analysis

Advancements in AI technology, such as Visage Technologies’ FaceAnalysis, have revolutionized personalized product recommendations in the beauty industry. And they are reshaping the way brands enhance the shopping experience. 

By tapping into the potential of cutting-edge technologies, particularly age and gender analysis, brands can now offer tailored beauty product recommendations that cater to individual needs. 

Imagine walking into a beauty store and being greeted with a selection of products specifically chosen for your age group and gender. That’s what face analysis, paired with a virtual try-on solution, can do for you and your customers.

These tailored recommendations take the guesswork out of shopping, ensuring your customers find products perfectly suited to their needs. It makes their beauty journey even more enjoyable. And with this technology, you’re not only offering convenience and efficiency but also empowering individuals to embrace their distinct beauty. 

This level of personalization makes customers feel valued while also increasing the likelihood of their satisfaction and loyalty. Because as the Salesforce research shows, 92% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience.

AI-powered emotion analysis for hyper-personalized cosmetics

In addition to age and gender, beauty brands can also harness the power of AI-powered emotion analysis. And integrated with makeup AI, it can help you gain valuable insights into customer sentiments and address concerns in real-time.

For example, by analyzing facial expressions, you can determine which product or service aspects evoke positive or negative emotions. This invaluable feedback can then guide product development, ensuring that all future products cater to customer preferences and deliver an elevated experience.

And by prioritizing customer feedback and implementing real-time improvements, you will not only attract new customers but also retain existing ones, creating a solid base of loyal customers. 

Check out the walkthrough of our demo below and see how our age, gender, and emotion estimation work in practice:

Embrace the power of AI and elevate your beauty shopping journey

As we’ve seen, the future of beauty shopping lies in delivering a powerful, personalized experience that seamlessly integrates online and offline channels. 

By harnessing the potential of AI and incorporating innovative technologies like AR and AI, beauty brands can cater to the evolving needs and preferences of their customers. 

So, as the beauty industry continues to evolve, embracing AI-driven personalization is not just a luxury but a necessity for brands seeking to thrive in the digital age.

And if you, too, are ready to thrive, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, and we’ll help you get started!