CK Hutchison and Meitu target millennials by integrating social media into retail

Leveraging Meitu’s artificial intelligence technology and CK Hutchison’s expertise in retail, the alliance aims to create a refreshing and interactive online and offline shopping experience that is targeted right at millennials.

Per the agreement, Meitu will supply Watsons Hong Kong, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, with the ‘Magic Mirror’, a smart mirror which allows consumers to try on products virtually.

According to the company, Watsons will be able to reach Meitu’s network of 350 million monthly active users.

Bryan Cheng, Chief Operating Officer of Meitu, added, “With a huge number of female online users from Meitu and strong female customer base from CK Hutchison, the partnership can further improve the value of Meitu’s user platforms while combining beauty with social media, strengthening the connection and interaction with our customers.”​

Virtual experience

With the ‘Magic Mirror’ consumers can expect to play around with about 600 make-up products from international brands.

It also offers style recommendations set by beauty advisors, adding the human touch to a virtual experience. Empowered by big data, Watsons will be able to recommend products accurately based on customer preference.

Meitu’s ‘Magic Mirror’ will be launched first in Watsons Hong Kong’s Mongkok Bank Centre and Cameron Road branches in late-October.

By the first-half of 2019, the company expects to roll out the smart mirror to 30 more stores.

In addition to the ‘Magic Mirror’, Meitu will be upgrading its BeautyCam app with a skin analysis feature that will be able to offer users product recommendations from Watsons.

The company hopes BeautyCam will become the “one-stop solution” for beauty enthusiasts, and increase the transaction value for Watsons.

The new upgrades will be available in Mainland China by late-October and in Hong Kong in the first quarter of next year.

Customised approach

Watsons China will also leverage Meitu’s social media platform by launching an official account to enable them to target consumers.

With it, Watsons will be able to send tailored messages and recommend consumers products through Meitu’s social media platform by identifying the type of edits users make to their photos, such as a face-lift or blemish removal.

This gives Watsons the chance encourage product recommendations through word-of-mouth, said the company in a statement.

Joint loyalty programme

To promote its loyalty programme, Watsons China and Meitu will jointly release a new membership e-card with an exclusive design, which will be promoted through both online and offline platforms, including the Meitu app.

Apart from helping to recruit new members for its loyalty programme, the new membership will give Watsons even more access to consumer behaviour with the help of big data.

“In addition to expanding the customer base in China and Hong Kong, Watsons aims to provide the best shopping experience for its patrons. We are confident of this partnership and believe that it will create a three-way win for customers, Meitu and CK Hutchison,” ​said Canning Fok, Group Co-Managing Director of CK Hutchison.