Prior to the COVID induced pandemic, the beauty and wellness sector, despite its strong presence, was stagnant in terms of innovation. The lockdown forced the industry and many big brands within the same to rethink their positioning. Enter: AI.
With AI, skin and beauty needs became more personal and gave way to the self-care sector. Skincare enthusiasts grew greatly concerned with what suits their skin type/combination and urged others as well to evaluate their skin needs.
Taking a cue, Health & Glow recently launched an AI-powered expert, called ‘H&G Skin Expert' to transform users’ shopping experience. An offline beauty and wellness retail chain that offers a wide range of products, in-house and otherwise, it was started in 1997 in Bangalore.
With the latest technology, the company aims to help users pick the right products based on their skin type. The tool, the company ascertains, can detect every skin type and make personalised skincare recommendations. The suggestions, they say, come straight from dermatologists and skin experts.
K Venkataramani, CEO and MD, Health & Glow says, “The beauty and cosmetics industry is expanding, and cutting-edge technological advancements have completely transformed the sector. It is the need of the hour to reinvent and innovate constantly to be competitive and relevant to customers.”
During and after the pandemic, many companies launched AI-powered technologies to give their customers safe and touch-free service. Product samples and testers took the blow as the sector became more hands-on and personalised.
Elaborating further on where the industry will lead from here, Venkataramani explains, “AI-powered experience in the beauty industry is definitely the future as it helps you give expert advice to customers in choosing the right products for them.”
“The future of the beauty industry will include personalised services empowered through technology and data and this can be successfully accomplished by AI-powered tools only. We aim to constantly reinvent ourselves to provide our consumers with the best beauty products and services,” he adds.
International brand, Estée Lauder was amongst the firsts to dabble into the AI and AR-dictated beauty market. With the launch of a personalised try-on makeup technology, online and offline, the brand gave its users the option to choose from a wide range of products without having to physically apply them. With this move, they advanced towards racial inclusivity and ushered into the personalised beauty market.
In India, e-commerce beauty brand Nykaa led the game in partnership with L'Oreal and launched AI-generated virtual try-on technology called ModiFace. As per the official statement, the company aimed to enhance the beauty shopping experience in the post-pandemic world. Its advanced algorithm detects lips, eyes, cheeks and hair and makes recommendations based on the results.
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