The Booming Beauty Industry And The Metaverse: How One Affects The Other

The cosmetics industry has always adapted to the evolving trends of this world. From the mention of Jezebel in the Bible and the Romans to a society where the makeup industry is growing rapidly, the cosmetics industry has seen it all. The history of the beauty industry dates back 7,000 years. It has adapted to the needs of the world and is still ever-budding. 

Reasons Behind Beauty Industry Entering The Tech-Driven World

The beauty industry generates around $500 billion every year. The industry came to a standstill during the initial stages of the pandemic. But it was swift to save the business by adapting to the requirements of the current situation. Stepping into the digital space was challenging for all industries. But the beauty industry completed this transition quite quickly. This was achieved due to taking the leap of adapting to innovative and new technologies. These new technologies cater to the in-person shopping trends and the consumer’s needs. 

Due to these reasons, there came up engaging, exciting, and newfound e-commerce technologies. These technologies could aid the beauty industry in promoting its business. In a study by Deloitte, millennials are behind the technological approach of this industry. Due to this, the cosmetic industry has begun investing in immersive shopping experiences. 

There have emerged shopping platforms, social media, and virtual reality programs. By using them, customers can now gain a customized experience from the brands. This will help develop abiding relationships and further brand loyalty. 

Why The Entry Into The Metaverse?

The pandemic had encouraged the natural-look factor. But the virtual world is now lit with the most advanced makeup routines. Video games and beauty may not be very obvious partners. But breaking off the gender barriers has always been supported by the woke brands. Companies now understand the potential of parallel worlds in their brand’s promotion. Thus, they have started to explore these newfound areas of technology.

Brands like Gucci, Nars, and Givenchy are in the race to enter the metaverse. They have achieved this by collaborating with ‘Animal Crossing.’ It is a social simulation videogame created and published by Nintendo. 

The Metaverse—A Way To Realize Your Dreams

In the virtual world of the metaverse, everything seems possible for an instant. Companies like Adidas and Nike plan to launch their iterations for the metaverse. Some have already launched them. They wish to present their collections to the customer base. Brands want to stage fashion shows and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs). They want to showcase their personality to interact better with the customers. This is an attempt to cover up for the gaps made by pandemics between the producer, product, and the customer. 

Looking at the parallel universe of the metaverse, you can observe the user avatars. User avatars are a virtual representation of you in the metaverse. Their appearance and behavior differ from one another that reflects the user’s personality. So, if you are fashioning your avatar in your image, why leave fashion statements behind? 

This is the age of change in ideologies. No longer are the women—or even men—shying away from grooming or pampering themselves. The metaverse is a platform where you can express your whims and fancies the way you want, and yes, without a mask! And this is something that augmented reality has made workable in the recent past. Augmented reality is an advanced version of the real physical world. It is achieved via sound or visual technology.

The Exploration Is Still In Progress

The anxiety was clear in the cosmetics industry. This was majorly due to the success line going down for a while during the pandemic. And this trepidation has boosted the change of the industry into the virtual space. Creativity once again became the center of innovation. The mission of the beauty sector is to provide services to customers at home. 

As a result, you can find apps that offer virtual makeup testing to their customers. Now you can experiment with the different shades of lipstick and foundation on your face. Thanks to augmented reality! You can do this even before buying the product. You get the satisfaction that you used to get in going shopping offline in the pre-pandemic days. 

This is exactly what is going to unfold in the universe of the metaverse for the beauty industry. Metaverse will also use illustrious filters from social media. Zepeto, the South Korean metaverse published by Naver Z Corp, has entered into a partnership with many beauty brands. At the same time, Dior Beauté presents looks fashioned by Peter Philips—the image and creative director for the luxury brand. 

This alone would suffice to bring a good amount of users into the metaverse. Metaverse has also opened up endless possibilities for budding enthusiasts of makeup. Such apps can help the user to test all the looks they want to, without actually showing it off in the real universe. Livestream Shopping and NFTs

Along with promoting their brands in the metaverse, companies enjoy many benefits. They can now offer NFTs, which is becoming quite a popular mode of investment these days. Nars, Clinique, and Givenchy Parfums have already divulged their NFTs. These are expected to proliferate in the upcoming fearless world at a great speed. Be it to offer rare and exclusive products or to display cosmetics via the eyes of various artists, NFTs will play an important role in the future. 

Companies could depend on their personalized metaverses. They can run Livestream marketing and shopping programs. This will cause the customers to have immersive and interactive experiences. The companies can, in this way, also establish one-to-one relationships with their customers. 

Such online programs are thriving across the world. China has become a prominent center for such online sessions. This, in turn, is encouraging live shopping shows. Here the hosts are content developers, online stars, and influencers. This phenomenon will mark the new direction that the metaverse will introduce in the real world.

The Ball Lies In The Brand’s Court

The cosmetics sector has undergone a swift digital makeover in the previous year. This latest trend is likely to pick up the pace, and the companies can use this opportunity to further their brands. 

Virtual reality programs and social media platforms meant for shopping have now become a favored way to shop in times of pandemics. This is reason enough for retailers and brands to invest in the new technology. 

If they give precedence to the digital portals and make their online presence felt, the brand can go a long way. This can happen besides keeping the customers engaged and interested in the brand. 

Now that the technology has elevated itself, it’s time for the beauty sector to do the same. They need to offer superior levels of their product’s skill. They can give curated recommendations to their customers. This will help the customers not to feel the absence of offline shopping experiences. It can also assure them that the online experiences are way better than the in-person one. 

Because millennials are becoming dominant customers, the brands need to upgrade themselves. The beauty sector needs to accommodate its tech and internet-savvy nature. The brands would need to ensure that their digital touchpoints are effective in increasing conversion. They also need to be on a roll with the present digital revolution.