Beauty tech is driving the evolution of beauty, Wayne Liu, chief growth officer and president of Americas at Perfect Corp., told attendees at the WWD 2023 Digital Beauty Forum.
Citing recent consumer behavior studies, Liu shared that 70 percent of consumers say that experiences are more important to them than material possessions, with 62 percent of consumers specifically finding new technology to be exciting. Moreover, 70 percent of consumers say they want to see something more visual when they see search results.
“When we talk about beauty tech’s present and future,” said Liu about the ongoing innovation happening around technology in the beauty space, “nothing really happened just because it happened, there’s a couple of reasons we can look to and those reasons are triggered by the consumer demand.”
While consumers are notably looking to have more experiences across all categories, beauty, said Liu, is uniquely poised to provide a winning result given its already playful nature. That’s why innovations like augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are so impactful, he said.
Founded in June 2015, Perfect Corp. is a global leader in augmented reality and artificial intelligence with more than 400 brand and retail partners, covering luxury, prestige and mass which have adopted Perfect Corp.’s various beauty tech SaaS products. Partnering companies include Sephora, Dior, Chanel, Neutrogena, Benefit, Tencent WeChat and Harrods, among others.
Today, said Liu, access to AR shopping has become somewhat expected. According to Google’s data, more than 90 percent of Americans currently use or would consider using AR for shopping and 98 percent of those who have used AR while shopping found it helpful.
With customer expectations rising, Liu said those companies that do not offer AR or AI on their websites are losing a higher percentage of customers who are willing to look for a brand that does. At the same time, those brands who have successfully made AR technology part of their business are showing great results. To illustrate, Liu cited The Estée Lauder Cos., a brand partner of Perfect Corp., which has seen a 250 percent increase in purchase conversion with its online lipstick try-on. Additionally, installing in-store makeup try-on technology has earned the company a 40 percent increase in purchase conversion and a 15 percent increase in average basket size, he said.
With technology, the future of beauty is inspiring and proactive, said Liu, who predicted several trends will take off. Among these trends are sustainable digital transformation, AI personalization, AR interactive ads, immersive digital experiences with Web 3.0 virtual commerce and the rise of AI skin technology.
One especially exciting trend is the AI skin diagnostic technology. Perfect Corp.’s technology has been creating alongside leading dermatologists, among other experts. Perfect Corp. has invested heavily in AI machine learning that will propel this innovation forward in providing accuracy for its users.
Source: WWD