With 96% of customers admitting to feeling better about themselves after a manicure, the nail industry is set to be worth $11.6 billion by 2027, making it clear there is now, more than ever, demand for nail care regardless of gender. Alongside a rise in interest for nail upkeep, there has also been a significant rise in the integration of technology within beauty, with the likes of CES hosting annual events to showcase technology within the cosmetic industry’s debuts. The latest brand to provide technology-based services is Sally Hansen, which has now become the first nail color and care company to release a virtual and interactive try-on tool, in partnership with Perfect Corp.
The omnichannel virtual try-on allows consumers to experience a range of Sally Hansen nail color options before purchasing. The tool makes use of AgileHand technology, a brand-new AI hand-scanning piece of equipment, tested on real hand models with an array of skin tones, textures, and hand sizing; the tool was announced at CES earlier this year. Sally Beauty will be the first to make use of AgileHand’s services, with customers able to see their desired color on a live moving image of their own hand.
“The technology that Perfect Corp has created is truly unmatched in the market, offering an augmented reality experience where consumers see how a precisely color matched polish performs on their exact skin tone and nail shape and in changing lighting. We are proud to work alongside Perfect Corp as the first brand to put this technology into and onto the hands of consumers,” said Jean-Denis Mariani, Chief Digital Officer at Coty, home to the Sally Hansen brand. The use of this technology allows consumers to test before buying, without having to apply several polishes to find the correct color, as well as making the process hygienic and accessible when shopping online.
The technology comes after Coty and Perfect Corp. entered an agreement at the end of last year promising to embed a suite of augmented reality and artificial intelligence experiences into the digital marketing toolkits of its beauty brand. "We are thrilled to continue building upon our partnership with Coty and power their AI + AR virtual try-on experiences for Sally Hansen nail color with our innovative new AgileHand Technology. Coty's precise interactive digital nail try-on experiences for Sally Hansen are a perfect example of leading brands leaning into the digital transformation and introducing impactful consumer shopping through beauty tech," said Alice Chang, Perfect Corp. founder and CEO.
Coty and Perfect Corp. are planning to create additional try-on tools including online skin diagnostics and data-driven personalization across Coty’s portfolio of cosmetics, skin, and fragrance brands.
Nail polish comes under a more impulsive section of beauty, and customers enjoy experimenting with various shades and designs, making the virtual try-on a fun and playful, almost game-like shopping experience. The Sally Hansen try-on technology is available now in the US, soon to follow worldwide, paving the way for AI-powered nail cosmetics shopping.
