Technology augments consumers’ beauty experiences

L’Oréal is reinventing the beauty experience for consumers across every touchpoint, seizing on upcoming technology trends like augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, 5G networks, etc. As a company, L’Oréal is moving from products to services that boost the appeal of products and the image of brands, and influence consumers’ purchasing decisions.

Turning beauty into experience through services

In the past 10 years, digitalisation has radically changed the way brands and consumers interact, as well as the places where consumers purchase products. With a digital-first mindset, L’Oréal kindles interest in its beauty products through unprecedented activations online and at physical points of sale. L’Oréal is moving from products to services to give consumers innovative and exciting ways to discover products: from trying them virtually to receiving personalised recommendations and routines or experiencing entertaining events.

The SkinDr AI-powered service is one such experience, using artificial intelligence to deliver a personalised skin “diagnosis”. Developed by ModiFace, Research & Development and a team of dermatologists, SkinDr helps users find products perfectly suited to their needs and beauty preferences. Several million “diagnoses” have been carried out since its launch, each with artificial intelligence powering personalised recommendations, based on 15,000 skin images. As knowledge and technology evolve, L’Oréal experts are constantly improving and enriching the SkinDr mobile app to break new ground in areas such as the exposome and the skin ageing process.

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Interactive and immersive experiences on social and e-commerce platforms

The rapid growth and evolution of social media platforms and social commerce —alongside the development of better connectivity through 4G and now 5G networks—sparks and sustains the creativity needed to offer live, interactive, immersive experiences from brands, their ambassadors and beauty influencers. L’Oréal brands have harnessed the power of new apps like TikTok—with media and influencers pivoting to this fastest growing platform—while demonstrating their livestreaming prowess. Over 10,000 livestreaming sessions were performed by L’Oréal brands worldwide in 2021.

As an example, Lancôme’s social commerce programme in Brazil, My Lancôme World, involved 40 local influencers and over 15 live shopping events in 2021. Influencers have their own Lancôme boutiques hosted on the Lancôme Brazil website to engage with consumers and share exclusive content during live shopping events, driving new consumers to the brand. 

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The gaming phenomenon: a blend of real and virtual

Gaming is a new way to engage. It offers connected, community-based interaction, entertaining both the gamers who are actively playing and the viewers who are watching the players through Twitch livestreams. These audiences are increasingly looking to experience virtual worlds through their avatars in the metaverse. Around 45% of today’s gamers are women and 90% of the Generation Z cohort. regularly play online.

This is an opportunity for entertainment, but also for creating new business models and partnerships. The NYX Professional Makeup brand scored high in the gaming community by sponsoring the five time world champion women’s esports team Dignitas. This partnership marks a first for NYX Professional Makeup in esports, with content centred around self-expression, empowerment and furthering opportunities for underrepresented groups in gaming. The collaboration with Dignitas is a milestone for the esports community, as NYX Professional Makeup has become the first global cosmetics brand to partner with an esports team.