AI Virtual Try-On Experiences: Revolutionizing The Beauty Industry

In the beauty industry, keeping up with the latest innovations and meeting consumer expectations is crucial. One significant advancement is the adoption of AI technologies, especially for providing hyper-personalised experiences. This technology is transforming how consumers interact with beauty products, offering convenience and personalisation. But how are businesses using AI to change the beauty industry, and can small companies compete?

Many major beauty brands are already benefiting from AI-powered virtual try-on technologies. These companies use advanced AI systems to let customers virtually try-on makeup products using their smartphones or in-store devices. These brands offer an interactive experience that improves customer satisfaction and boosts sales.

While these advancements are impressive, they are not limited to large corporations. Small businesses can also use AI without spending a fortune, thanks to companies like Yuty.

Now let me tell you all about, and how you can compete with major beauty brands to drive customer satisfaction, increase loyalty and ultimately boost sales by leveraging AI.

Founded in 2020 by former award-winning B2B SaaS leader Simi Lindgren, Yuty® is the Google and VC backed B2B SaaS revolutionising the beauty commerce experience and customer-brand relationships through AI-powered hyper-personalisation, with a vision to empower SMBs to become the Fortune 500 companies of tomorrow.

Yuty's achievements have been recognised by prominent media outlets including ITV, TechCrunch, CNN, Bloomberg and The Washington Post, and has been acknowledged as the “Early-Stage Beauty Tech to Watch” by Sifted and a “Beauty Game-Changer” by ELLE Magazine - they have garnered multiple patents for their innovative technology.

When speaking with Simi, it was understood that Yuty® was founded to bring the necessity that is hyper-personalisation to the beauty commerce experience by SMBs to offer personalised experiences to their consumers; a problem Simi felt keenly that needed solving, and got to work on a solution.

“The fragmentation in the buying journey as a beauty consumer was frustrating, and I wasn't the only one that was experiencing this; there were ~80% of people who felt the same way that I did. One had to discover beauty products from an array of sources . Beauty consumers are extremely savvy, the amount of research and diligence that goes into discovering products can be exhausting. Then there is the trial and error, the validation and evaluation of beauty products only to discover that they don't work.”

Yuty®’s AI personalisation software targets the several pressing challenges confronting the contemporary beauty industry, by solving the primary problem of suboptimal customer-product compatibility for beauty consumers, which has resulted in high customer attrition levels for beauty brands. Whilst the majority of the beauty industry continues to perpetuate a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, it continues to fail to address the diverse needs and preferences of individual customers.

70% of beauty consumers are overwhelmed by the multitude of product and brand options available and struggle with finding the right beauty products that meet their needs. Despite 60% of beauty consumers conducting extensive online research before making a purchase, inconsistent and unclear information on product safety and ingredients often leads to consumers embarking on more guesswork and trial-and-error in their quest of finding the right product fit. While beauty consumers have the luxury of consulting store assistants on product effectiveness in-store, the absence of such experiences online exacerbates the challenge of customer-product compatibility, creating a fragmented and discombobulated customer experience that has been largely unaddressed until solutions such as Yuty® reached the market.

In addition to poor customer-product compatibility, beauty brands are also facing a unique set of commercial challenges, ranging from data depreciation, skyrocketing customer acquisition costs, consumer volatility and increased competition in the industry. Firstly, data depreciation, the decline in the value, relevance and accuracy of data caused by evolving privacy regulations and consumer privacy-related actions, has curtailed businesses’ access to meaningful and actionable datasets. This has made it increasingly difficult for SMBs to gain a comprehensive understanding of their audience and develop well-informed R&D strategies, hampering growth and undermining their return on investment. Furthermore, customer acquisition costs, including digital advertising, have surged by up to 92% alone in 2022. Consequently, businesses are now investing more to acquire and retain their customers while continuing to rely on outdated and depreciating datasets, leading to inefficiencies in resource allocation, inaccurate customer targeting and substantially slower growth. This is where Yuty® comes in. 

Designed for licensing as a personalisation widget, seamlessly integrating with a brand's Shopify store, Yuty® positions itself as a results-driven technology and a key digital partner for SMB’s growth, empowering them to drive brand loyalty and secure a competitive advantage in the market.

Synergising science, machine and deep learning algorithms, Yuty® delivers hyper-personalised product and routine recommendations to beauty consumers across metrics such as genetics, lifestyle, environment and preferences in < 3 minutes, powering conversion, brand loyalty and higher revenue growth.

Yuty® 's personalisation engines utilise a combination of advanced diagnostic technology and a questionnaire to expertly detect, analyse and evaluate a customer’s goals, needs and concerns, ultimately generating precise and hyper-personalised recommendations and offering a comprehensive assessment of their concerns. Their technology fundamentally strengthens the relationship that a brand has with its customers by empowering them to deliver a seamless and elevated search and product discovery experience that informs, educates and engages their customers; eliminating any trial-and-error or guesswork involved by enabling consumers to make knowledgeable and informed buying decisions.

The results include improved business outcomes for SMBs, such as higher average order values and conversion (AOV), increased customer retention and customer lifetime value (CLTV), stronger customer satisfaction, and reduced customer acquisition costs (CAC), all of which have a positive impact on their growth.

While big players continue to lead the charge, innovative companies like Yuty ensure that small businesses can also use these advancements without high costs. By embracing AI-driven solutions, beauty brands of all sizes can improve customer experiences, build loyalty, and drive growth in a competitive market.

Being a small to mid-size business does not mean you have to skip innovation or think it's too costly—it might cost more not adapting. If you are thinking about implementing AI in your business to achieve growth but still don't know where to start, we at Sebastian Kraft Consulting can help you.

Learn more at www.SebastianKraft.com

Sebastian Kraft and Simi Lindgren 14.06.2024