Magic mirror: DFS Group extends partnership with Meitu to expand AR retail experience

From August 1, MeituGenius will be available in DFS stories in countries and territories such as the US, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau.

Liling Wang, business lead of MeituGenius said: “Our growing partnership with DFS Group demonstrates MeituGenius’ technological capabilities and potential at an international level. We had a technological breakthrough in 3D AR this year by offering virtual sunglasses to DFS, and we look forward to future opportunities and pioneer digital innovations down the road.”​

MeituGenius first made its overseas debut with DFS last August. Previously, the smart mirror offered virtual eye shadows, lipsticks, blushes and makeup look recommendations based on its AI analysis of user’s facial features.

In addition to these features, the smart mirror now incorporates features from Xiaohongshu, a popular beauty social media platform in China. Additionally, the mirror now allows consumers to try on sunglasses virtually.

Bringing virtual shopping to life

Powered by Meitu's AI lab MTlab’s exclusive facial recognition technology, MeituGenius is able to identify 180 facial feature combinations to generate customised makeup looks.

The technology is also able to represent the colour and glossy textures of cosmetics accurately on different skin tones under different lightings.

According to Meitu, the MeituGenius improves retail conversion rates as by helping consumers make purchasing decisions faster.

It also encourages consumers to sample more make-up without fear of unhygienic testers. Consequently, consumers are more likely to try-on cosmetics at a faster rate.

“MeituGenius’ ​attractive and innovative appearance is a natural draw for customers. Upon discovering its ease of use and helpful services, customers are more likely to stay at counters longer as they sample cosmetics at a faster rate,”​ said Wang.

Additionally, the mirror enables retailers to improve the efficiency of their stores by freeing up their staff for more important matters.

Going mainstream

This year, Meitu is aiming to expand MeituGenius to the broader public. To further enhance its accessibility, the program will be made available on MeituGenius official website as well as WeChat’s mini programs.

This will allow brands to better understand their consumers and improve their conversion rates, said Wang.

“We have worked to include online services that allow users to sample commodities that were previously not available with the AR technology. Brands are now able to better understand users and relate to their customers through our online services.”​

Recently, L’Oreal-backed ModiFace launched its first virtual try-on app on Giorgio Armani Beauty’s WeChat mini program.

According to Tencent, parent company of WeChat, the partnership with ModiFace is only the beginning and it plans to offer similar features to more brands on its platform of 1.1bn active users.