from November

© Réduit

TECHNOLOGY

At-home beauty tech sees a lockdown boom

BY BETHANY FULTON10 NOVEMBER 2020

At-home beauty tech has enjoyed an uptick in the time of Covid-19. And it’s here to stay.

Before Covid-19, the at-home beauty tech sector was already primed for growth. But pandemic lockdowns have given it one giant push in the West, further boosted by the enthusiasm of Gen Z consumers.

L’Oréal’s Perso, an AI-powered at-home system that analyses the skin, made waves at CES 2020 back in January and is expected to perform well upon release next year, while Foreo’s Luna cleansing device range, which was first launched in 2013, has emerged as a product with mass market appeal.

At-home beauty tech encompasses the purely digital, such as mobile apps designed to enable users to track and analyse their skin, through to physical devices for a specific purpose, such as Foreo’s Luna, and devices that use a blended approach of hardware and software. The global beauty devices market was valued at $39.1 billion in 2018 by Vynz Research and it is predicted to grow to $107.2 billion by 2024.

The fitness and wellness industries have already been boosted by at-home tech. Beauty is shaping up as the next frontier, allowing consumers to take closer personal control over their beauty routines. “In the same way we track our steps, our sleep, our food intake, the amount we go to the gym and analyse all that, we’ll be doing that with our skin health, and checking our products are actually working for us,” says Jenni Middleton, director of beauty at trends specialist WGSN. “It’s how you know you’re getting it right and it’s how you motivate yourself to maintain good habits.”

Expect a new wave of data trackers for beauty routines, similar, for example, to the devices favoured by runners for analysing their stats. An example is Neutrogena’s NAIA Skin360 app, launched pre-pandemic. It analyses users’ skin with a smartphone camera, then offers a personalised routine and tracks the skin’s progress. At a time when consumers’ access to in-person expert dermatological advice is restricted, apps like this are poised to fill the space.

“We’ll see a slew of these [apps] coming through as brands realise this is how to connect with a skintelligent consumer who wants to understand their skin better and how to treat it,” predicts Middleton. “It’s about properly giving you diagnosis, prescription, checking it’s working. It’s about personalising and giving you control.”

Guive Balooch, head of L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator, echoes the importance of personalisation in beauty. “One of my biggest missions is inclusive beauty, and I think how can you really reach inclusivity without personalisation? In the end every human being is different.”

L'Oréal’s Perso, scheduled due for release in 2021, uses data to improve skincare efficacy through personalisation.

© L'Oréal

He suggests at-home beauty tech is the best way to achieve personalisation. “We started thinking more and more about mass personalisation,” he says. “We’re trying to create smart tools powered by data… I’m a big believer in the idea that technology can break boundaries of accessibility when it comes to beauty — meaning accessibility in that there are way more shades of people than there could ever be shades of foundation on a counter.”

L’Oréal’s Perso device, due for release in early 2021, is an example of data used to improve skincare efficacy. Using a mixture of AR, AI and geolocation data, it calculates the exact amount and combination of SPF, serum and environmental protection for a specific day, while other versions mix custom shades of foundation or lipstick.

While consumers are demanding inclusivity, they are also paying more attention to sustainability. Réduit, an innovator in the space, is heavily influenced by the need for a more sustainable industry. “With the single-use disposable plastic ban, it’s something that’s not going to go away,” Paul Peros, CEO of Réduit, says. Réduit’s skin and hair tech devices claim to deliver 20 applications from 5ml of product, equivalent to 100-200ml of standard products. The delivery system is the key selling point: it’s a combination of ultrasonic diffusion and magnetic misting, which provides higher and more even distribution of skincare products compared to a traditional spray system.

A significant restraint on the growth rate of beauty tech products is their high price. Réduit’s Spa device for skin costs £189 ($247) and Foreo’s facial toning tech device costs £279 ($365). On the subject of Perso’s unreleased price point, Balooch says: “It’s going to launch with a luxury brand first, so it’s going to have a price point that’s in line with that brand, but we’re trying to make the device as accessible as possible. The goal would be over time to cascade the platform to brands that are more mass brands in the future.”

Lia Neophytou, consumer analyst at GlobalData, offers a strong dose of scepticism: “Unless brands can offer value for money and communicate that purchasing an at-home beauty device can offer significant savings in the long term, it will be surprising if these products become mainstream.”

GlobalData research suggests that 61 per cent of global consumers are influenced by how digitally advanced or smart a product is. However, Neophytou points out that this should be compared with 83 per cent of global consumers who claim to be influenced by how well the product aligns with their time and money constraints.

Global variations in consumer uptake of at-home beauty tech are noteworthy. “Asia is renowned for being at the forefront of beauty innovation, driven by the growing expectations of an increasingly sophisticated domestic consumer base,” says Neophytou. Encouragingly, younger demographic groups in the West are showing Asian levels of engagement. “Generation Z is a lot better,” says Peros. “They’re adopting almost like they do in Asia.”

Brands are preparing for growth in the West. Neophytou notes that L’Oréal has a slight edge over competitors following its acquisition in 2018 of augmented reality and AI specialist ModiFace, a market leader in digital beauty technology with which many competitors, including Estée Lauder, had previously partnered. ModiFace’s advancements in AR and AI tech enabled L’Oréal to roll out digital try-on services across all of its brands when in-person try-on became problematic. Elements of AR and AI are expected to be present within future tech offerings.

Estée Lauder is investing in digital tech, as in its recent partnership with creative tech agency Rehab to launch a skincare experience through WhatsApp. This enables consumers to speak with “Liv”, an AI-based chatbot that helps users build and stick to a personalised skincare regime.

Balooch of L’Oréal stresses the importance of what he calls “phygital” tech — a blend of physical and digital. “It’s the idea that physical and digital [hardware and software] will come together to allow us to do more than we could ever do before. So we’re investing a lot in those technologies and expanding on things we’ve done in the past like personalisation.”

As for the long-term future of the market, WGSN’s Middleton predicts a polarisation in the market between “products that are very high-end and are going to give people complete confidence along with people who just want a piece of tech that might enable them to get a better job from their skincare”.

What Middleton describes as a “techceleration” of the beauty industry may be close to fruition. The holiday period, led by Black Friday on 27 November, represents a big test of the potential market in the West. The marketing sweetener, no doubt, will be some very enticing discounts.