Brief:

• App developer Perfect Corp. partnered with marketing company Amway on a mobile app that lets shoppers virtually try on its Artistry line of products before buying, according to a press release.
• The app features more than 150 makeup and skincare products that users can buy and test through augmented reality (AR), the technology that overlays a digital image on a real background seen through a smartphone camera, along with personalized product recommendations based on users' individual preferences and concerns.
• The free app will be available in the App Store and Google Play in South Korea this month, followed by Japan, Thailand and the United States later this year.

Insight:

Amway is introducing a mobile experience for its Artistry beauty collection as a way to help the independent business owners who market its products compete with major cosmetics companies like Sephora that have embraced the latest technologies to engage shoppers and promote their products. Perfect, which developed its YouCam apps to let mobile users try on cosmetics using AR overlays on selfies, has worked with major brands such as Estée Lauder, L'Oréal, Lancôme Paris and Maybelline New York, showcasing how beauty, entertainment and mobile tech are proving to be an alluring mix and potential sales-booster.

This type of technology can be resource-intensive to develop, which is why many brands are partnering with platforms like YouCam to reduce costs and leverage Perfect Corp.'s experience in developing beauty-focused mobile capabilities. It's logical that cosmetics brands will continue to beef up their digital presence to attract tech-savvy consumers. Perfect's 500 million app downloads demonstrate that people are becoming increasingly comfortable with AR to virtually try out new looks.

Mobile AR has become a key technology for beauty brands, especially as younger adults and teens share their new looks on social media platforms and search for inspiration or video tutorials on YouTube. By using AR to demonstrate products, retailers and brands like Amway can provide customers more accurate expectations, more confidence about purchase decisions and better product satisfaction. As a sign of AR's growing potential, L'Oréal last month made its first technology acquisition with the purchase of Modiface, which develops AR technology for the beauty industry, similar to Perfect.

Amway, whose sales dropped by about 2% in 2017 to $8.6 billion, is seeking to reverse a four-year decline in revenue by focusing on overseas growth markets, a likely reason for rolling out its new Artistry Virtual Beauty App to Eastern countries.