VR and AR will be just like mobiles today in a couple of years.
The demand for e-commerce has risen worldwide as a result of Covid-19 lockdown. For some, that was a big win.
Online sales are all good, but they do not offer the unique experience that brick and mortar offer to keep their customers involved and keep them coming back time and time after time.

The beauty and healthcare markets are very sensitive by their design. Customers want to try out and test a large variety of products, get salespeople personal advice and look closely at products. None of this in the midst of the pandemic was feasible. But many in the industry have been led to explore how technologies such as AR to fill the gap without customers having to leave their homes.

AR, like Pokémon Go, is historically connected to the gaming world. The Sephora program, Revieve ‘s beauty counselor make-up apps used facial detection AR to evaluate the skin and/or to superimpose make-up on the face.

Intelligent retailers are finding ways to create a seamless shopping experience that keeps shoppers engaged even when they leave the store.

AR is integral to the retail beauty industry for three reasons:

 

1) There is a new wave of customers.

The younger generations are shaping the culture with pictures of self-expression. In an average day, you take more photos than your parents have taken in one year. For this generation Instagramming is everything, the experience is just as important as the product itself.
So, the beauty industry investing in research, experiments and acquisitions in order to meet the needs of these young customers. It’s obvious that in the industry when something brews, brands need to keep up and grab the opportunity.

Case In Point:

a) Cosmetics giant MAC, in partnership with YouCam, introduced a Virtual Try-On feature enabling customers to ‘try on’ various products via pictures and live videos before making a purchase.
Real simulations can be tested in different skin colours, providing users with fully personalized service.
Ukonwa Ojo, the world’s MAC Cosmetics CMO and SVP stated that “it’s the digital-first brands that are best positioned to win in this new environment, which requires us to find new ways to virtually connect with consumers while they are socially distancing at home”
b) Amit Jain, managing director of L’Oreal India in an interview with LiveMint, indicated that the CEO of the company has a global mission to “evolve from a beauty to a beauty technology company” as a result of the market implications and the rising consumer preferences during the pandemic.

2) Beauty brands look at AR advantages

 

Modiface has developed advanced 3D virtual make-up technology as well as personalized skin issue diagnostics and is a leading Canadian company in the area of augmented reality and artificial intelligence. Numerous major brands such as L’Oreal, Maybelline, Yves Rocher, Smashbox, CoverGirl and Rimmel London provide their customers with AR apps that allow every user to access real-time solutions.
The aim of the development of these products is certainly educational, as they offer further information on the product and provide an occasion to enrich the strengths of the product, which is a good marketing strategy.

Ines Alpha, a 3D-make-up artist with Dior and Selfridges as clients says ‘It’s pretty new that we’re using 3D and digital elements as make-up. I consider make-up to be something that transforms your face, be it an Instagram filter or what I do. It’s how make-up has been used since the Egyptians: enabling humans to transform into a character.’
Even the biggest names in beauty have already noticed this phenomenon and have their first voyages of exploration in tech. In the near future, everybody will be able to try and make-up with virtual reality before they purchase it.

What to expect?
L’Oreal ‘s Perso is an AI device that analyzes the need to create customized products on-site and was launched globally in 2021. Elsewhere, Sephora’s ‘Virtual Artist’ mirror simulates make-up on a person’s face.

3) The technology is getting sophisticated.

The way we live is changing with technological advances everywhere we look. Self-driving vehicles, which once were science fiction, have achieved luxury status and are considered for practical reasons such as the distribution of goods.
Technology is clearly moving at a speedy pace. Rapid advances in facial recognition technology have also accelerated the pace of development in the AR-beauty industry. Augmented reality and face technologies are developed to reflect the reputation of a beauty brand in a virtual world.

Colour technologies and colour matching have emerged so that any colour of any product can be replicated in a virtual environment. A make-up artist may use their camera phone to capture colour and add it to a customer photo, for example, to compare make-up colours. The ability to correctly place make-up on the face now appears practically so natural that you can barely tell the difference between the two when contrasting it with a picture of someone with actual make-up.

Conclusion

1. Covid-19 led the beauty industry to explore how technologies such as AR to fill the gap without customers having to leave their homes.
2. The new wave of customers, the experience is just as important as the product itself. Understanding this transition MAC, in partnership with YouCam, introduced a Virtual Try-On feature and CEO of L’Oreal has a global mission to “evolve from a beauty to a beauty technology company.”
3. Many brands are tapping into beauty technology market and It’s pretty new to use 3D and digital elements as make-up, soon, L’Oreal ‘s Perso- AI device and Sephora’s ‘Virtual Artist’ will be launched.
4. Colour technologies and colour matching have emerged so, any colour of any product can be replicated in a virtual environment.
5. Brands, including this type of experiments and personalization, ultimately will win the loyalty of technologically advanced purchasers. Now we’re becoming an ‘experience economy,’ where people spend less on things and invest more on things to do, gain experience, and the business model of goods and services with AR is gaining momentum.