With almost all of consumer beauty spend in the US happening online in recent weeks, ecommerce and digital consumer engagement is becoming increasingly experiential. Perfect Corp. sees artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) as key processes in the shift to effective, dynamic ecommerce.
“As consumer shopping behavior shifts towards ecommerce, beauty brands need to embrace the power of innovative AI + AR beauty technology to deliver on the interactive and personalized beauty journey that modern consumers want,” says Alice Chang, Founder and CEO of Perfect Corp. in this week’s media release announcing the companies new beauty tech solutions.
Beauty tech makes online shopping more sophisticated and more fun
“Our comprehensive beauty AI+AR services within WeChat mini programs will allow beauty brands to deliver personalized product recommendations and keep consumers engaged in a new virtually connected way that invites discovery and experimentation,” explains Chang.
The company’s new skin diagnostic solution uses AI to monitor, among other things, skin spots, wrinkles and other textures, redness, oiliness, and dark circles, according to the release. It’s a devise-based solution that centers on personalized skin care product recommendations.
Perfect Corp.’s new Smart Shade Finder also promises personalized product recommendations by distinguishing from among close to 90,000 skin tones, taking both skin color and undertones into account. With this new feature, “beauty shoppers are now able to effortlessly try on several foundation shades in seconds, to find their best match,” states the release.
And the new virtual makeup try-on option works in real time, using what’s called high definition 3D Live Mesh technology (the Perfect Corp. solution uses some 3,900 meshes to synchronize data). This tool is for virtual sampling of color cosmetics and has an additional personalization feature, an AI-powered beauty advisor service that makes product recommendations to create a full-face look.
Reaching beauty consumers around the world with WeChat mini programs
“WeChat is China's largest and most dominant social platform,” as this week’s Perfect Corp. media release points out.
“And,” explains the release, “consumers often turn to beauty brands’ official WeChat accounts to make an informed purchasing decision." So the beauty tech company sees "WeChat mini programs [as] an increasingly important tool for the beauty brands.”
WeChat is an effective digital interface for brands to connect with consumers in China but also with consumers from China living and traveling elsewhere, and increasingly for consumers with no personal ties to Asia whatsoever. The platform (launched in 2011) has over 1bn registered users in China and more that 70m outside the country. In 2017 the company opened its ad platform to US companies and brands. More information on how brands are using WeChat as a marketing tool can be found in this September 2019 Hootsuite blog post by Katie Sehl.
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Deanna Utroske is a leading voice in the cosmetics and personal care industry as well as in the indie beauty movement. As Editor of CosmeticsDesign.com, she writes daily news about the business of beauty in the Americas region and regularly produces video interviews with cosmetics, fragrance, personal care, and packaging experts as well as with indie brand founders. CLICK HERE to find out why Deanna Utroske was recently featured on Publishing Executive.
