Revieve reveals personalized beauty, automation and AI impact in retail report

08 Nov 2023 --- Revieve has launched a report serving as a roadmap for businesses looking to succeed in the rapidly evolving world of retail. The report spotlights how to deliver seamless and distinctive customer experiences online and in person by implementing personalized experiences, automation and AI.

Titled “Navigating Retail’s Future: Connecting Dots for Success in 2023 and Beyond,” the report emphasizes the strategies and technologies that are reshaping customer engagement while providing actionable insights. 

Customized experience
Revieve highlights that 22% of consumers are drawn to virtual shopping and immersive encounters, and retailers have responded to this by expanding their digital presence. Meanwhile, 81% of retailers plan to enhance their online presence in the next year.

Fourty-four percent of US Gen Z’s agree that celebrating themselves has become more vital post-pandemic. In one way, the idea of celebrating oneself can be translated through purchasing habits.

Brands and retailers are also focusing on celebrating the unique interests of each consumer. This marketing approach encourages customers along their journey of self-discovery and encourages them to embrace their individuality with confidence. Ninety-two percent of retail practitioners agree on the importance of delivering consistent, personalized content across multiple channels.

Hybrid "hub&store" models with mobile apps to use in stores are becoming increasingly popular among retailers.The report continues that customers now expect brands to understand their needs, with 88% emphasizing the experience a brand offers as a crucial aspect of its product.

However, 71% of brands also report challenges in tracking customer journeys due to their interplay between offline and online experiences.

Seamless automation
In the retail world, the focus isn’t only on products and services — it’s creating extraordinary experiences that engage consumers in innovative ways. By 2025, nearly 60% of consumers envision more than half of retail spaces dedicated to immersive encounters.

Automation streamlines operations and enhances the shopping experience. Seventy-five percent of consumers embrace automation, with 23% more inclined to shop where modernization is embraced.

The report details how companies are embracing hybrid “hub&store” models, developing mobile apps for use in brick-and-mortar stores. According to Adobe, 41% of retailers highlight mobile apps as one of their top two investment areas for 2023, while 29% also explore the potential of hybrid “hub&store” models.

Fifty-seven percent of consumers say that self-service checkouts or chatbots are “important” or “critically important.”

Consumer loyalty
A path for retailers to take is implementing loyalty rewards programs. Customers who enroll in such programs are twice as likely to become repeat patrons and spend 37% more than those who are not part of a loyalty program.

By nurturing these relationships, brands can cultivate customer loyalty. For instance, Living Proof built an experience where consumers share their email to receive product recommendations through Revieve’s AI Hairecare Advisor. This resulted in collecting over 25,000 emails in ten weeks.Revieve recommends retailers use AI. 

Implementing AI
The report also highlights how retailers use AI to predict customer behavior and provide personalized recommendations. Revieve explores the transformative advancements in AI.

Many beauty brands are implementing AI to showcase their products to consumers. For example, Revieve highlights the use of AI to offer customized skin care solutions that are unique to the user. 

Last month, Revieve joined forces with Marionnaud Switzerland, a European distributor of fragrances and cosmetics, to debut an AI Haircare Advisor in Switzerland and Austria.

Additionally, the report recommends using AI to showcase makeup on a customer’s face and using it to tailor the look to their preferences. 

“In this TechXcellence-driven era, success is intrinsically tied to our ability to embrace technology. Whether it’s the art of creating captivating ‘phygital’ experiences that seamlessly merge online and in-person shopping, streamlining operations through the adoption of automation, or exploring the transformative potential of generative AI, technology serves as the cornerstone for not just surviving but thriving in the ever-evolving retail landscape of 2023 and beyond,” says Sampo Parkkinen, CEO of Revieve.

“It’s the conduit to delivering unparalleled customer experiences and staying ahead in an industry that continually demands ingenuity and adaptability.”

Personal Care Insights recently caught up with Parkkinen in an exclusive video interview about the AI and AR revolution in which virtual try-on and hair and skin diagnostics solutions are gaining ground.

By Sabine Waldeck