AI is predicted to contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. These days, businesses are adopting such technology to strengthen their brand in ways once unimaginable. Thanks to the power of AI, consumers can now access beauty in a range of ways: from try-before-you-buy elements, to skin analysis tools and robotic services. While AI is benefiting countless brands across the industry, those who cannot afford to add the technology to their business are unfortunately being left behind. In the UK for example, only 15% of small businesses use AI in comparison to 68% of large companies. To tackle this issue and make AI more accessible, Perfect Corp., the leading beauty tech solutions business, has launched the Small Business Beauty Tech Accelerator program.
Created with women- and minority-owned businesses in mind, the Small Business Beauty Tech Accelerator will provide small beauty brands and retailers with up to six months' free access to Perfect Corp.'s self-service virtual try-on technology for color cosmetics.
“Beauty businesses are quickly learning the importance of AI and its necessary implementation across their consumer journey. We are excited to offer a program to democratize access to innovative AI, AR, and digital technologies like AIGC, that will transform the consumer journey and the way brands do business. This program will continue to educate and empower smaller brands to harness the power of technology throughout their shopping experience so they can see firsthand the impact of advanced beauty tech,” Alice Chang, founder and CEO, Perfect Corp., tells BeautyMatter.
Perfect Corp. hopes that the initiative will democratize access to AI and AR technology, helping small businesses to interact with consumers on a deeper level than they are used to, increasing personalization, engagement, and sales. The try-on technology can be added to brands' websites, and allows them to digitize their SKUs across seven product categories: foundation, mascara, lip color, blush, eyelashes, eyeliner, and eye shadow. The technology will allow consumers to experience a brand's products before spending their money, helping them to find their best shade and style.
Chang believes that the landscape for the way beauty is received is changing, with “AI no longer being a ‘nice to have’ component of a successful business strategy, but instead a must-have.” The results of Perfect Corp.'s. technologies certainly prove the benefits of AI. Having helped over 500 brands across the world to modernize their products and consumer journey, Perfect Corp. reports that many brands see a 2.5x increase in sales conversion when using their try-on technology, as well as a 40% increase in average order value, and an 8x decrease in product returns.
“We’re already seeing the next phase of AI—AI Generated Content (AIGC)—transforming business processes by inviting an enriched, ultra-personalized consumer experience using AI to build variations from a single image. This is why we are launching new programs like the Small Business Beauty Tech Accelerator program to make impactful AI solutions available to more brands than ever before. Our AI solutions continue to help brands solve consumer pain points—like addressing wasteful, unhygienic, and messy product sampling—and help brands and retailers personalize the consumer shopping journey, driving more confident purchase decisions and sales,” Chang continues.
To be considered for the accelerator program, brands must meet the following requirements: have 50 or fewer employees, have $10 million or less in annual revenue, be women- or minority-owned, have a D2C channel, and sell color cosmetics in the seven categories the try-on technology works with.
With AI increasingly becoming a necessity for businesses to succeed, big businesses that have the resources required to uplift smaller businesses in the sector should explore the opportunity to extend a helping hand. As the beauty industry moves towards an increasingly digitized stage, brands should embrace less competition and increased collaboration; after all, there is a space for everyone to thrive, especially when given the correct tools.
