Table of Contents

Sustainable Practices with AR: Reduce Product and Packaging Waste
How Global Beauty Company KAO Corporation Reduced Product Waste with AR
Sustainable Practices with AR: Maximize Existing Product Samples without Excess Production
Sustainable Practices with AR: Reduce Product Returns and Shipping Waste

The beauty industry contributes 120 billion units of waste each year, and there are many components of beauty retail that contribute to the industry’s large carbon footprint. From product samples and packaging waste to product returns and plastic usage, there are many reasons why the beauty industry is need of sustainable solutions.

AI and AR technologies, particularly virtual try-on tools, are quickly transforming the beauty industry and consumer shopping experiences by providing a sustainable alternative to traditional product sampling. These technologies allow customers to sample various products through a fully digital platform, eliminating the need for physical samples.

Read on to discover the ways AR virtual try-on technology is helping beauty brands implement sustainable practices and reduce carbon footprint.

Sustainable Practices with AR: Reduce Product and Packaging Waste

Prior to the rise of AR virtual try-on technology, if a consumer was interested in sampling a beauty product such as lipstick or foundation, they would have visited a store, opened a product sample, and tested the product on their skin. This process is not sustainable, as it requires the production of many product samples and testers which are then discarded after a few uses.

AR virtual try-on technology allows brands to offer a fully digital product testing platform where consumers can sample and try-on as many shades as they like with no need for physical product testers.

How Global Beauty Company KAO Corporation Reduced Product Waste with AR

When beauty brands use AR virtual try-on technology, they are able to significantly reduce the plastic and packaging waste created from product sampling. In a recent case study, Japanese beauty company KAO Corporation was able to reduce product waste by 56 tons per year by implementing Perfect Corp.’s AR virtual try-on solution for hair color.

Sustainable Practices with AR: Maximize Existing Product Samples without Excess Production

AR virtual try-on technology can also help beauty brands run more eco-friendly product sampling campaigns. With this technology, instead of sending a customer or loyalty program member several products and shades to try, brands can determine which shade is best for each consumer before sending them a sample.

Consumers can try-on products digitally and receive a personalized recommendation for their sample. This allows brands to cut back on excess production and maximize the samples that they currently have produced. This also reduces the frequency of samples being discarded due to not being the right fit.

Perfect Corp. recently partnered with online sampling platform SoPost to create a sustainable practice sampling campaign. Learn more about how to run a green sampling campaign here.

Sustainable Practices with AR: Reduce Product Returns and Shipping Waste

Each year, 5 billion pounds of waste is generated through product returns. AR technology is helping to significantly reduce item returns across the beauty industry. With virtual try-on technology, a customer is able to digitally try-on many product shades to find their perfect fit. This increases consumer purchasing confidence and the likelihood that the customer will be satisfied with their selected shade.

As a result, beauty product returns are reduced, allowing beauty brands to decrease the shipping waste and discarded products that often result from product returns. This allows beauty brands to reduce their carbon footprint and brings brands closer to their ESG goals.

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