Some people say that Artificial Intelligence will power the fourth industrial revolution and change the way we live, work and interact forever. AI has already begun to disrupt the fashion and automobile industries, and beauty companies are starting to follow.
In 2018 L’Oreal acquired ModiFace (the AR beauty company), meanwhile companies like Coty and Estee Lauder aren’t far behind with their own developments and collaborations. But what else can we expect for the beauty industry in 2019 when it comes to AI?
Product Personalisation
Gone are the days of ‘one product fits all’ in beauty. Brands are taking advantage of the fact that people now want products that are specific to them and will actually help the problem they’re trying to fix.
Brands such as Function of Beauty and Prose ask their customers some beauty, lifestyle and environmental questions via an online quiz and then offer them custom hair products based on those answers.
But what if customers wanted to find the perfect products for them within brands that they already trust and love? This is where Beauty Matching Engine comes in. Beauty Matching Engine allows brands and retailers to offer their customers a personalised shopping experience; from personalised landing pages to personalised product recommendations based on their individual concerns. This way a customer can stay loyal to the brand or retailer they love while finding products that are a perfect match for them. You can also see this working with over 150 retailers and 4,000 brands on My Beauty Matches.
Chatbots
In 2016 Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that “Bots are the new apps”, and he was totally right. The last couple of years has seen an explosion of social media chat bots from all retail sectors, with Cover FX, Clairol, Kiehl's and Sephora being just a few from the beauty sector to roll out their version.
A lot of the beauty chatbots that have been released are simple yes/no questions and nothing more than a decision-tree. However Beauty Matching Engine can offer its clients so much more. Using AI, Beauty Matching Engine helps customers to find the perfect product for them while also up and cross selling. For example, if a customer expressed interest in foundation our technology would also suggest a concealer and powder that would best suit the customer’s needs. This way brands and retailers can help customers to build a personalised regime while majorly increasing their AoV.
Retail Experiences
It’s no secret that bricks-and-mortar stores have been struggling to keep up with e-commerce for the last few years and have been desperately searching for something to reinvent themselves. In 2017, virtual ‘try on’ shopping experiences hit the market with companies from Mac to Macy’s all rolling out their version of magic mirrors using AR.
This is all well and good to create a buzz around the brand and to get a few extra sales through press attention, but in the long run will this gimmicky technology actually have customers returning again and again just to try on a lipstick colour in a ‘magic mirror’?
Longevity is the key when creating in store shopping experiences. Yes, elements can change to keep the idea feeling fresh and relevant for customers, but the basis of the technology has to be something that increases customer engagement, loyalty, return rate and AoV. Otherwise what’s the point?
Beauty Matching Engine can help retailers and brands improve their customers in store product discovery journey by using AI. The customer will take the quiz and get recommended their products (with or without the help of a sales assistant). They will then get shown add on options that compliment the product they’ve ‘added to basket’ and they can then check out. This is also a perfect opportunity for brands and retailers to capture that customer’s data so they can re-target them with new product launches, inviting them to in store events, or sending them auto replenishment emails when their product is running low.
Want to see how Beauty Matching Engine can help your beauty company achieve the above and so much more? Book a free demo with us today.