Sephora has installed a digital mirror at its flagship store in Madrid that will deliver personalized recommendations through AI. The retailer partnered with Wildbytes, an interactive experience solution provider, to design the technology.
The mirror detects data about the shopper looking into it, including gender, age, look and clothing, and uses those points to recommend makeup, skincare and fragrance offerings that best match the shopper’s needs. The AI-powered solution can differentiate between neutral and bright colors, floral and geometric patterns and other styles. The mirror also takes real-time information into account, including the local weather, season and top-trending items.
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Shoppers who like a recommendation are offered a QR code that lets them purchase the products from Sephora’s web site, or helps them easily locate the item inside the store. None of these features requires input on the part of the customer — the mirror detects or draws upon relevant data automatically.
“Currently, we find personalization in online experiences but not their physical counterparts, which is a huge missed opportunity,” said Daniel Torrico, Managing Director at Wildbytes in a statement. “The same content plays in-store without any personalization to the shopper, their interests, style or preferences. Our aim was to make the shopping experience more relevant and fun, thereby shortening the purchase cycle.”
Sephora also has attempted to bridge the in-store and online experiences with the Sephora Virtual Artist mobile app, which operates through Facebook Messenger to let shoppers upload a photo of themselves to a virtual chatbot. The AI functionality then directs shoppers to a compatible shade of makeup and suggests products they might want to purchase.
Additionally, the beauty retailer is experimenting with an even wider range of experiential tools at its two Beauty TIP (Teach, Inspire, Play) Workshops in New York City. These experiential locations feature skincare studios where shoppers can get mini facials, Tap and Try kiosks that enable customers to virtually try on lip or lash products, and fragrance studios that lets shoppers smell a range of products through InstaScent technology.
Other beauty brands are using smart mirrors to create their own unique experiences. Coty’s Paris flagship features a mirror that puts the emphasis on AR, letting shoppers pick up different lipstick colors to see how they would look on them. Shoppers can complete the look with onscreen eye makeup and blush matched to their individual skin tones, then use the selfie function to produce an image that includes links to the products on Coty’s web site.