Maybe One Day We’ll Be Able To Smell Perfume Through Our Computer?
When I think of Web 3 I think of venture capital and tech companies coming out with cutting edge technology that we’ve never seen before. It’s seems pretty daunting for someone like me that is very unfamiliar with those spaces. However, since learning more about Web 3 in #CBSDigitalLiteracy I have become informed of the potential applications of these innovations into industries that I have both a professional and personal interest in. For instance, the beauty industry is already beginning to identify various uses for blockchain technology to enhance the customer experience and foster brand trust. According to Statista, the global cosmetics market is projected to reach $758.4 billion by 2025 and has already proven to be an audience of young, digitally savvy early adopters of technology. We can see this when we look at both consumer and company responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2020, ecommerce exploded, and the beauty industry led the wave of incorporating technology into their consumers shopping experience. “Sephora’s Virtual Artist app introduced Augmented Reality to the masses for shopping, rather than entertainment. Kylie Cosmetics’ recent embrace of shoppable live streams, a popular medium in Asia, has set a new standard for Western brands. Charlotte Tilbury took a novel approach to pandemic restrictions during the 2020 holiday season by launching an immersive VR shopping experience, complete with avatars and video-calling so customers could shop socially with their friends.” (Source). We saw beauty consumers we’re ready and even excited for the incorporation of technology into their shopping routine. Now as we continue into the world of Web 3, leaders in the space have begun to identify clear uses for blockchain for beauty brands. Below are a few that I found quite interesting.
1. Loyalty Rewards Programs
We have seen largely successful loyalty programs from companies such as Sephora with their Beauty Insider Program totaling 25 million members worldwide, however with the introduction of a new type of currency, cryptocurrency, that creates the possibility of a new form of rewards. One partnership that facilitated a strong launch of this concept was that between Lolli, a platform that allows users to earn bitcoin as a reward for purchases, and YouTube influencer Michelle Phan. Phan successfully launched makeup line, Em Cosmetics, in collaboration with L’Oréal in 2013 and returned from a hiatus to re-launch the line in 2017. With this relaunch came an introduction of blockchain technology. “The partnership offers customers up to a 4.5% portion of Bitcoin to anyone who downloads Lolli’s web extension and shops with Em Cosmetics. This means that instead of the usual cashback, customers on Em Cosmetics get Bitcoin back.” (Source). Other similar applications of blockchain for beauty reward programs include COSMEE using CosmoChain. “CosmoChain is a platform that aims to create mutual benefits by connecting users who create and share beauty contents, with companies which require data such as users’ skin information, and purchasing patterns. COSMEE, a recently launched beauty platform, is the first project of Cosmochain, that rewards cryptocurrencies to the users for creating beauty contents and participating within the community.” (Source).
2. Supply Chain Traceability
Ingredient transparency has been a large subject in the beauty industry for decades and only continues to be top of mind for consumers as we learn more about the effects on unethically sourced ingredients. “Due to its timestamped and verified data entry, blockchain presents an innovative solution to the problem of supply chain visibility. The UK-based cosmetics vendor Cult Beauty has begun working with blockchain firm Provenance to launch an in-store system called ‘proof points’. Brands selling through the site will be able to verify their claims about a product via open-source information from NGOs and lab reports, such as vegan ingredients or sustainability. This allows consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.” (Source). The question if something is truly cruelty-fee could no longer be an issue.
3. Using NFTs
“Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a technology that measures vibrations in molecules, Berlin-based beauty and fashion company Look Labs recreates the “digital reflection” of a fragrance. Described as a “Cyber Eau de Parfum”, this colorful digital reflection is basically the product of wavelength data gathered via NIRS technology.” (Source). Previously, this type of technology may have seemed like something we would see in a science-fiction movie decades ago, but this is now real-life application of the latest NFT technology.
These are just a few of the radical changes that we may continue to see as the beauty industry continues to adopt technology.
