Shiseido launches online sign-language beauty consultations for hearing-impaired customers
Shiseido introduces a new online beauty consultation service tailored for customers with hearing impairments, offering personalized consultations via sign language, lip-reading and chat features.
The service aims to overcome communication barriers in beauty counseling and provide an inclusive, accessible experience for customers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The service started with a pre-opening phase in October 2024, which addressed challenges such as the need for sign language proficiency among beauty consultants. The initiative includes consultations conducted by trained Omni Personal Beauty Partners (PBPs), who are learning sign language to assist customers better.
As part of a broader employment initiative, Shiseido is also recruiting more individuals with sign language skills to join its workforce.
Service features
Shiseido conducted interviews with people who have hearing impairments inside the company and externally and found three major pain points with beauty counseling: no counseling staff knew sign language, writing entire conversations is exerting and noisy backgrounds make focusing more challenging. The company designed its consultation service to address these needs.
Online consultation sessions are offered in sign language, lip reading or chat.The consultation service allows customers to choose the communication method that suits them best, including sign language, lip reading or chat. Shiseido hopes that this flexibility will ensure that users can receive beauty advice comfortably without the stress of traditional communication barriers.
The Omni PBPs adapted the sign language used during these consultations for improved clarity in the online setting. For instance, movements that are difficult to view on screen have been adjusted for better visibility, explanations are provided alongside product displays and demonstrations feature subtitles and visual aids for added context.
Customers can access the free service remotely via online platforms.
Employment initiatives for people with disabilities
Shiseido is also advancing its “Employment Expansion Project,” which seeks to create more opportunities for people with disabilities within the company. The project aims to emphasize the recruitment of people with disabilities, especially those skilled in sign language, for beauty-related roles.
Shiseido currently employs more than 400 people with disabilities across various positions and departments, with an employment rate of 4.81% within the company and 2.99% for the Shiseido Group in Japan.
US-based company Cleanlogic is another personal care company focused on employing people with disabilities and creating accessible products. Cleanlogic’s Holiday Gift Guide features brands making a conscious effort to make products and services suitable to people with physical limitations. Guide Beauty’s Eyeliner Duo, for example, was designed by a makeup artist with Parkinson’s and can be opened and handled easily for those with dexterity issues.
