Digital era: L’Oréal backs beauty tech to deliver interactive and personalised experiences – Singapore MD

L’Oréal Singapore Managing Director Iris Lam told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that the French cosmetics firm strongly believes that technology will “open a new era” ​for the future of beauty.

“Digital and technology are at the heart of our approach to beauty, from research to production, from distribution to communicating with our consumers.”​

The Group has also used beauty tech to tap into the growing consumer demand for a more personalised beauty experience.

“Technology has the power to create personalised experience and answers consumer needs, such as: what is the right skincare routine for me? The beauty industry has a digitally-driven future, so we continually create customised and interactive purchasing experiences for our customers,”​ said Chai.

She added: “All in all, consumers’ needs are at the forefront of our business, and we aim to best meet their needs in the digital revolution.”​

A SkinCeuticals first​

The group has recently been investing in digitally-driven retail initiatives such as the contactless Lancôme smart store pop-up​ in Seoul.

Following that, the firm recently unveiled a beauty tech-enabled beauty counter for its cosmeceutical brand SkinCeuticals in Singapore.

In addition to being the brand’s world’s largest department store counter, the SkinCeuticals outpost is equipped with several digitalised and automated functions to give consumers interactive and educational opportunities.

“SkinCeuticals is one of our key brands with a rich scientific history that we believe could help to pave the way forward with beauty tech that is relevant and engaging for our consumers,”​ said Chai.

Chai added that the debut of the counter in Singapore was a strategic choice.

“L’Oréal is inventing the beauty of tomorrow with beauty tech and this vision aligns very much with the Smart Nation vision of Singapore. Beauty consumers in Singapore are discerning and in tune with the latest trends in science, technology and beauty, and the adoption of technology has accelerated among many demographics.”​

The ‘new normal’​

To help consumers learn more about the brand and its products, the firm launched the Lift and Learn Wall, where customers can learn more about the brand’s hero products just by lifting a product off the walls.

Consumers can also get personalised skin consultations from the SkinCeuticals SkinScope LED, which is designed to assess a patients’ skin through the use of two light modes: a simulated daylight mode for reviewing visible concerns, and a LED-UV light mode for identifying underlying damage.

In addition, the counter is also manned by an Artificial Intelligence-powered robot which can assist with product details and price checks.

“The AI Robot will enable the products to be brought to life in a more immersive way, where consumers have the option to explore the brands by themselves, aided by the AI Robot and Virtual Learning Walls,” ​said Chai.

The company noted that the counter will continue to be led by its expert Derma Advisors (DAs).

“We strongly believe that DAs are extremely important to the beauty ecosystem, and we place a lot of emphasis and consistent training and service upskilling for our Das,”​ said Chai.

In fact, the company believes the implementation of beauty tech can augment the role of its Das.

“Beauty tech will help provide a seamless O+O experience, and the power of technology will therefore allow us to deliver authentic creative solutions tailored to consumers, offering new ways for our DAs to build a special relationship with our consumers, as well as through our products and services.”​

Moving forward, Chai said the company would continue to innovate with the help of the latest technology.

“For more than 100 years, we have been at the forefront of technology and beauty and embracing the latest technology has always been a part of our company’s DNA. ​We ​are a digital first company, and we believe that this innovation and relevance in beauty tech with consumers, partners and employees continues to be the future for beauty retail.”​