Like trying makeup before you buy, say at Target? How about trying makeup without having to apply any while at Target? Also, what would you think about not having to go to Target until after you have made your choice?
Target is the most recent department chain to have an augmented reality app for customers to virtually try on cosmetics. The try before you buy deal certainly will draw consumers who just aren't sure what that right shade of lipstick or foundation will do to their visage, and who don't want to physically preview their choices.
Target via The Beauty Studio web app uses the YouCam platform offered by Perfect Corp and is accessible at Target.com. Just go on the web with a computer or mobile device using Safari for iOS and Chrome for Android and you can test out 88 products. This includes lipstick, eyeliner, blush, etc., from 10 brands. Brands included are big names such as Cover Girl, L'Oreal Paris and Revlon.
The seamless experience is quick. Click a product, click the try how this looks, and then you can use a model photo, an uploaded one, or use your camera to do it live. Users can also access a split-screen mode to compare before and after makeup. Snapshots can also be taken to share on social media.
Beauty Studio will also be at locations in Target's stores using digital displays in their beauty departments. So far 10 stores have it, with other stores acquiescing the in-store displays throughout 2018.
Christina Hennington, senior vice president of Target's Beauty and Essentials sector released a statement saying, "When it comes to shopping beauty, our guests love to explore. With the introduction of these new initiatives, which blend physical and digital to create an enhanced experience, we're giving Target's guests even more convenient options to find the perfect beauty items for their unique needs."
Target is revving up something which may be a staple in the future, for every kind of store. After all web-based augmented reality experiences are already out and everywhere. Before this, an AR shopping tool for furniture was set up on Targets website. This allows broader reach to consumers and previews of items on many compatible devices.
The Target app is more functional and more available since facial recognition doesn't need to have the ARKit and ARCore. Also, Target, compared to other competitors versions of such programs, has shown better performance for Beauty Studio within limited testing.
Target's use of AR is a sign that the trend is growing for marketing to allow consumers to interact with products before they buy them while taking it a step up from social media's use of AR which is mostly to make fun pictures and experience VR, according to Mobile AR News.
Certainly, Target is a major department store, accessible to many which are trying to get the AR experience integrated within their company before other department stores do, and if they gain more ground in this avenue of marketing it will make them more appealing to more people and more formidable to their direct competitors.
What do you think of Target's augmented reality web app, The Beauty Studio? Tell us below!
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