Digital makeover apps are taking over the mobile cosmetics marketplace
Perfect365, from imaging software company ArcSoft, is one such app. “Each month, our users apply more than 250 million digital makeovers using Perfect365,” Vince Hsu, the team’s business development director, tells Cosmetics Design.
The app partners with indie brands like Nudesitx, brand curating services such as ipsy, and celebrity lines like Susan Thompson to bring consumers the latest looks, and, as Cosmetics Design reported in a recent CD Buzz video segment, to help those brands reach new markets and simplify cross-channel engagement.
Business and beauty
Digital tech, like apps, lets brands combine product discovery with sales in creative new ways.
“Perfect365 is more than just an app that lets you try on makeup, it offers unlimited opportunities for beauty industry brands to reach a captive audience of 80 million makeup enthusiasts,” affirms Hsu.
“It is a platform that can extend a brand’s online, in-store and app presence and allow brands to offer their users a truly engaging experience from the comfort of their mobile devices,” he adds.
And, ArcSoft is confident that online beauty retail sales will continue to rise—nearly 20% in the next 3 years, according to Hsu.
International appeal
Brands often turn to digital in order to reach consumers globally without making an international investment. Conveniently for beauty, visual platforms speak a sort of universal language.
Perfect365 was, for instance, named a top 10 entertainment apps of 2015 by the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.
Launched back in 2013, the app has since been ranked among the top 15 photo apps for iOS and Android.
This worldwide reach and popularity is valuable. It“creates an opportunity for brands to break into new markets and test out products or reach consumer in markets where they may not currently have a presence,” Hsu tells Cosmetics Design.
Conversion rate
More shoppers are moving from simply researching products and price online to spending money there.
“Consumers are getting more and more comfortable with making purchases online,” says Hsu, “and the more they know about how the product will look on them, the more likely they are to buy it.”
Tech tools that duplicate a consumer’s face and/or body in the virtual world are becoming commonplace. It’s likely shoppers will soon expect this sort feature in their retail experiences.
“With so many makeup options available to consumers, imaging technology can give the ability to access many different looks at a low cost before finding the right one.” Hsu tells Cosmetics Design. “In addition, it allows the beauty industry to reach a much greater number of consumers in a shorter period of time.”
