In the first session hosted on the Lions Innovation stage, L’Oreal’s SVP Open Innovation & Digital Services Esohe Omoruyi hosted an engaging discussion showcasing the beauty giant’s journey of digital transformation.
Joining Omoruyi on the panel were Lubomira Rochet, Chief Digital Officer, L’Oréal and Parham Aarabi, CEO of Modiface – the first tech company to be acquired by L’Oréal in its 110-year history.
The beauty industry has an interesting digital history. Being one of the first product categories to embrace digital, beauty is now dominating the video content front with over 45 billion video views per year and it’s also the most talked about category by influencers.
Not only has the beauty industry been very open to try out new technology, it is also an ideal category to apply tech at scale.
Perhaps that’s why L’Oreal’s acquisition of AR app maker Modiface is such a smart move.
The opportunities that L’Oréal saw in tech included creating new competitive advantages by having direct connections to customers, new touch points to tell brand stories, new channels for growth and recruitment and access to data to improve marketing.
With e-commerce now worth a cool $2 billion to the beauty giant, embracing digital is also a way it ensures strict ROI.
Touching on one of the tech trends of the moment, AR, L’Oréal gave an exclusive sneak peek of its one-on-one consultation tech which turns the make-up tutorial genre on its head by turning it into a personalised live chat and showcasing make-up virtually.
The app works in a similar way to FaceTiming your beauty advisors.
The user asks for recommendations which is then demonstrated in a live trial via AR, using a realistic 3D rendering onto the user’s face.
It also offers a product list used in the trial on the same screen and click-to-purchase within the app.
L’Oréal hopes to extend its reach to customers who may not come into the store by making make-up trials simple, personal and fuss-free.
With AR projected to have 1 billion users by 2020, L’Oréal aims to offer its AR experience seamlessly and everywhere.
