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retailer recognises that shopping habits have now changed when it comes to beauty. The department store chain has accelerated its digital development in beauty throughout the past year, testing out new initiatives such as Live Chat, Virtual 121s, online fragrance sampling and its virtual eventing programme, which has featured sell-out events such as the My John Lewis x Charlotte Tilbury masterclass in December. “Before the pandemic, I think the beauty model was very ‘tried and trusted’ with customers heading into shops for newness and inspiration, and then using online to replenish their favourites or order gifts,” says Mosley. “The past year has really challenged those traditional behaviours and a lot of the innovation the pandemic has prompted has been really positive for our customers, not just as a reaction to lockdown but on an ongoing basis,” she says, adding that its developments have enabled customers to shop at a time that suits them best, hear from experts around the world and engage with sensitive topics from the privacy of their own home.


Accelerated tech Technologies like augmented reality or virtual spaces have become even more prominent through the pandemic, giving brands and retailers options to bring experiences from the outside world in.


An example is Burberry Beauty Virtual Studio, an award-winning digital activation developed by Holition that combines facial tracking technology, AR virtual try-on and AI to enable consumers to try on best-selling products and its recently launched Essentials Glow Palette, and take part in a live AR guided tutorial on how to create desired looks. This features 3D stylised animations which are superimposed on the user’s face to highlight specific points of make-up application. The experience concludes with a direct path to purchase.


Other innovative experiences include the Jo Malone Townhouse (pictured, above), a 360 virtual store experience that invites users to explore two different rooms and interact with various animated elements and illustrations akin


WHERE DO BEAUTY CONSUMERS SHOP? 25% Mostly


in-store, but some online


15% Equally


in-store and online


Mostly online but some in-store


12% Source: Mintel report, Beauty Retailing – US, October 2020 (data sourced in August 2020)


Augmented and virtual reality spaces have bloomed during the pandemic, being safe while expanding the brand experience beyond a physical store


to the brand and its signature fragrances. Holition says that it is an example of how technology can be applied to reimagine the traditional retail experience, and provides Jo Malone London with the added benefit of expanding consumers’ brand experience beyond the confines of a physical store, aiding in product discovery and creating a seamless path to purchase all within the same platform. Retailers and brands in the west have also started to increasingly explore social commerce and livestream commerce, following the success of this channel in Asia and particularly China. And it is set to grow rapidly in the coming years. Armstrong says: “Shoppable commerce is a no- brainer for beauty brands. When video content was first taking off, beauty influencers and content creators on YouTube proved the value of this type of content. The move into social commerce and livestreaming commerce, therefore, is more of a side step than a leap, as it’s a natural progression from where the industry best performs. TikTok is the new YouTube. I’m sure it would already be a widely accepted way to engage with beauty retailers had the capability and tech moved faster.” If the future of beauty retail exists both online and offline, retailers and analysts believe there is an even bigger opportunity to unify them. Mosley says that for John Lewis, “The biggest opportunity is in creating a seamless experience for our customers which blends the very best of our shops and online platforms together – delighting, educating and inspiring our customers and ultimately reigniting the magic of beauty.”


Indeed, seamless shopping is becoming the norm, with 25% of all beauty shoppers shopping mostly in-store, but sometimes online, 15% shopping equally in-store and online, and 12% shopping mostly online but sometimes in-store, according to Mintel data from August 2020. The crisis that hit physical stores has brought consumer behaviours into sharp focus for retailers, says Fiona Sartoretto Verna, owner of Italian pharmacy design company Sartoretto Verna. “Before Covid, in most cases the shop had the ultimate goal of selling products, but today the center of gravity has changed: the sale will be


4 cosmetics business May 2021 cosmeticsbusiness.com


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