Beauty meets tech: Singaporean skin care brand launches smart spa experience

The firm’s fourth outlet combines retail, spa and a café to give its consumers a holistic wellness experience.

“With the digital touch-points at Porcelain Origins and the new Porcelain app, our customers are treated to a more personalised approach and experience,”​ said Ng.

“The digital innovations at Porcelain Origins also help us understand our clients' changing skincare needs. Our AI algorithms will help create a smarter, more dynamic feedback loop for us to better develop products and services.”​

Smart experiences​

Ng said it was her goal to use technology and transform her retail business. To learn more, she travelled to Silicon Valley to study various business there.

“The new-age consumer is reliant and highly dependent on technology. They require a personal approach, yet can be more unforgiving about human error. There is a demand for greater transparency, and it is driven by the ability to get any information they want almost instantly.”​

As such, Ng said incorporating smarter technology is non-negotiable from both a business operations and consumer satisfaction perspective.

Her biggest challenge was putting a spin on her conventional beauty business and bringing it forward into the digital world.

“There were really many considerations and challenges for the Porcelain team in launching a smart spa and deciding how far to push that technology in a spa and salon space that's typically very intimate.”​

Porcelain Origins consists of four digital features that make it a smart spa.

The heart of the digital experience is the salon’s very own mobile application. It gives clients access to a personalised dashboard with customised information based on their profiles. It also allows clients to book appointments, makes payments and can also provide skin care advice.

The application is also tied to Porcelain Origin’s smart mirrors fitted in the powder rooms. The smart mirrors can automatically identify clients via the app and can display post-treatment care tips.

The spa’s therapists’ are equipped with iPads to log in specific requests and preferences of the consumer. It can be integrated with a table-top touchscreen consultation system.

“When we were considering incorporating technology into Porcelain Origins' Spa Experience, we were careful to ensure that none of the key human touch-points were replaced. We wanted to elevate the personalised experience of each customer, engage the digital-age customer in a non-intrusive manner, yet remain highly human in our approach,” ​said Ng.

The Product Discovery Bar is the spa’s immersive interactive retail counter. It is installed with a sensor and a camera, allowing it to provide consumers with real-time skin analysis and product recommendations.

“The integration of technology into the operations and spa experience allows more seamless engagement with our existing customers, and at the same time, helps new customers to discover and learn about the brand and products through educating them about skincare,” ​said Ng.

Zap skin woes away​

Keeping in line with the theme of innovation, Porcelain Origins offers three IPL facial treatments, which are the latest technology from Spain.

“One amazing shift we have seen is that the consumers are more educated about skincare, and they expect greater transparency in use of ingredients. The industry has a growing segment – medical-aesthetics, where doctors are now in the game of improving skin conditions and offering enhancements procedures,” ​said Ng.

These IPL treatments produce better and faster results with shorter downtime.

“Our approach considers both the strengthening the natural resilience of your skin, and incorporating science and technology to boost the efficacy of the treatments and products. So when we do our R&D, we look for technologies that reinforce our skincare philosophy.”​

Ng highlighted that transparency was becoming increasingly important in the salon industry.

“Transparency helps us build trust with our customers by having clear pricing, no-hidden fees, openness of the step-by-step procedures, as well as disclosure of ingredients, pH and any information they may require. This allows us to have very honest conversations with what our customers really need, and this feedback loop is the core of our R&D.”​