CBI member, L’Oreal has launched an alternative reality mini-programme on China’s WeChat social media platform that allows users to try on virtual makeup.
After testing the products, WeChat users can order them from Giorgio Armani Beauty’s mini-programme shopping site. Users also can compare “before and after” views of their looks, save the screenshots and share them on social media.
L’Oreal acquired the company behind the AR technology, ModiFace, last year and helped to develop the mini-programme for their parent company, Giorgio Armani.
CEO Jean-Paul Agon said: “The acquisition of ModiFace is a major milestone in the transformation of L’Oreal into a digital augmented beauty company.” L’Oreal’s AR mini-programme for WeChat shows how the social media app is becoming a more versatile platform for product demonstrations and mobile shopping. Moreover, through working with WeChat, L’Oreal has the potential to reach more than 1.1 billion customers.
Demonstrating the importance of the China market to L’Oreal, WeChat is only the second online marketplace on which the French cosmetics company has launched this AR service, following ModiFace’s initial launch on Amazon last month.
L’Oreal’s launch onto WeChat is particularly significant, since it demonstrates the social media app’s capability in providing end-to-end innovative shopping experiences for clients; perhaps serving as a sign-post to where China’s e-commerce market is headed.