HOW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE PATTERNS OF THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY

HOW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE PATTERNS OF THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY

The emergence of the Cutting edge technological advancements have vitally changed the functioning of different industries.The beauty and cosmetics industry is one of the many that has seen growth so as to enhance a consumer’s experience via adapting to latest trends and developed apps. The introduction of Artificial intelligence has not only made production of products quicker but has also eased the process of one being able to purchase them. In lieu of this process the latter and virtual reality have joined forces to create an experience that is particularly designed and tailored for each one.This is now used massively via electronics, whether it is apps on one's smartphone or laptop or yet again in stores to create an omnichannel affair.

These latest advancements have been adapted worldwide making the industry very competitive. This has led brands and e-commerce sites to constantly integrate these developments to make their apps and websites better, for being the best in the game by just being a few clicks away for a consumer to make a purchase.

E- Commerce websites for beauty brands have benefited the most by inculcating tech - AI, VR and AR. This highlighted how China plays a huge role in their sales as it is one of the biggest markets, where people purchase luxury and beauty products. All luxury and premium beauty brands saw an overall growth of 67% in sales out of which China contributed to 40% of the

sales by the end of 2019. Alibaba accounts for 30% of high-end luxury sales in China or abroad according to Andrea Teixeira, Head of Personal Care and Research at JP Morgan.

As a matter of fact, influential names in the cosmetics industry like L'Oreal and Estee Lauder are leading in the field of beauty and technology. Nevertheless, smaller and mid-sized ones like Maybelline, Lakme have undergone a revolution technology wise.

With the occurrence of the pandemic, the digital world saw a peak which has still not dropped due to the convenience it has created. Naturally consumers had no option but to use personal devices to purchase products. Estee Lauder as a brand in order to bridge the gap between the physical and digital world enabled consumers to try products through digital channels. In order to create a digital experience that would be at par with one in brick and mortar stores, they came up with the virtual try on augmented reality platform. This enabled their clientele to choose products that are best suitable for their skin and tone. For the industry to keep up with quickly accelerating innovations in technology to make their products completely foolproof and have no lag so as to achieve loyal consumers is now the primary goal of beauty brands.

As all the major beauty brands took the route of integrating augmented reality and artificial intelligence to enhance the shopping experience they are delivering to their consumers.It gained popularity amongst the customers who always wanted a taste of something new.This demand resulted in constant innovations of digital transformations that all the cosmetic brands were aiming to adopt.To achieve this, their representatives must reach a mid-point between Artificial intelligence and Augmented Reality technology as the beauty industry progresses further into the ‘’phygital” reality : fusing the physical and digital worlds together.

There is a constant effort that the beauty industry is making in order to bridge the gap between physical and digital worlds, this is where phygital fantasy, a macro trend, came into picture. Phygital fantasy falls under the megatrend full spectrum.A megatrend that imbibes an optimistic platform where digital influences and physical realities meet.

Meanwhile phygital fantasy accomplishes this concept by blurring the lines between physical and digital worlds, that the beauty consumers are now getting hooked onto. Now that consumers crave the tech-powered convenience, they have started to indulge in the exploration of metaverse while parallelly wanting in-store experiences. Phygital fantasy creates a space where customers can experience the best of the both worlds, catering to Gen Z and young millennials.This created a need for technological advancements to spread across new categories to establish complete satisfaction towards all consumer touch points. Enabling cosmetic brands to refine and upgrade their omnichannel strategy. Thus creating swift cross-category expansion with a refreshing omnichannel experience. For example providing the general public with product shade matching hair color and skin care.Thanks to the loreal group, who adopted this cross category expansion within its brands. Maybelline, NYX, Vichy and more can be seen using the virtual try on technology.This feature conveniently presents the consumers with an advanced face tracker AI that recognises an individual’s facial features, continuing to apply virtual cosmetics that the customer is curious to try-on.Garnier hair color service which is also under Loreal group has integrated virtual try on towards their customers who can now use this software to find out and experiment with different hair colors that would match their taste and personality.

Of course these technological innovations provide the consumers with an ease while purchasing the products online, a growing demand for hyper-personalisation emerges. Brands are embracing digital tools and platforms to create tailored beauty solutions while building new retail models in skincare categories.This made its way into the retail space as micro-trend, tech powered personalisation. A perfect example of this would be Vichy laboratories.To measure skin aging and tailor a custom skin care prescription for their users they came up with SKINCONSULTAI.

Even though technology continues to advance and accomplish bigger goals, the essence of the retail environment of a brick and mortar store holds great importance in the industry. The digital and technological development took place due to a circumstance in the past but the emphasis on experiential content, touch and feel has a significant impact on the industry because of the consumers mindset. The consumer's desire for an omnichannel experience alongside convenience might pose a challenge for brands in the future.