design:retail - March/April 2020 - 19

MARCH/APRIL 2020

INNOVATION

DESIGN:RETAIL

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY

Sally Beauty & AI
SALLY BEAUTY'S COLORVIEW AI TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES
SHOPPERS WITH A VIRTUAL FITTING ROOM FOR HAIR
COLOR AND MAKEUP
By Jenny S. Rebholz

➞ THINKING ABOUT BECOMING a blonde? A redhead? Expressing yourself with a wild
hair color and bold lip? Sally Beauty's 'Color Before Your Commit' ColorView
AI Technology allows customers to virtually experiment with hair color and
makeup before committing to the perfect shades. In November 2019, the international specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies
expanded its ColorView AI Technology to the Sally Beauty App and to kiosks
in Sally Beauty stores across the county (an in-progress plan for inclusion in
more than 600 locations).
The technology provides shoppers with a virtual fitting room for hair color
and makeup. The process begins with three quick questions in order to understand customer goals as well as the current and desired hair color. The
customer is then provided recommended shades, and can add makeup to
their look for a complete makeover. Through real-time artificial intelligence
and augmented reality hair and makeup color technology, customers are able
to experiment with a variety of options.
"The app accomplishes augmented reality by using a proprietary set of
artificial intelligence libraries to perform facial recognition, facial mapping
and real-time biometric tracking using our customer's smartphone," says
Joe Brenner, Sally Beauty group vice president and chief information officer.
This process supports a more confident shopping experience and enhances
consumer engagement. Shoppers can snap a selfie and email it so they can
get a friend's opinion. Others may save the image so they can re-evaluate
the look later. The technology also encourages camaraderie amongst Sally
Beauty enthusiasts as the shopper is encouraged to share their new look pic
via social media-#SallyColorView and #SallyBeauty.
The expanded integration of this technology continues the brand's commitment to revamping the customer experience.
"Sally Beauty customers over-index on mobile phone shopping and are
hair color enthusiasts," says JC Johnson, Sally Beauty group vice president,
digital commerce, strategy and insights. "We are excited to provide a fun
experience that allows our customers to dynamically try on color before they
commit to a hair transformation. They can try it, share it, buy it, save it, or
start all over again, with dozens of our best products."

16-20_drm_0320_Innovation.indd 19

Harvey Nichols'
Endless Aisle
THE LUXURY DEPARTMENT STORE EMBRACES
TECHNOLOGY TO OFFSET HALVING ITS FLOOR SPACE
By Mark Faithfull

Harvey
Nichols has revamped its two-story
Pacific Place store in Hong Kong,
consolidating to a single floor but expanding its product offer through an
omnichannel approach conceived by
designer Four IV Studios.
The exterior has an expansive
new storefront featuring a complex
design of stone slivers, tessellated
with lit glass rods, whose light gently pulses across the length of the
store. Interactive touchscreens in
the windows allow customers to
swipe through options and scan QR
codes to download product details.
With a concept that the store is
"bigger than its four walls," while
the physical footprint now stands
at 42,000 sq. ft., customers can
enjoy the full assortment through
technology, exploring the "endless
aisle" via touchscreens interspersed
throughout. When the screens are
not in use, they play content from
catwalk shows, editorial films and
curated collections.
Following Studio Four IV's

➞ L U X U RY D E PA RT M E N T S T O R E

concept for the international womenswear floor at the London
flagship, the store's designer has
created a collection of bespoke fixtures. Signposted in the retailer's
house style, the fixtures also allow
the store to flex and react quickly to
accommodate new labels. The same
approach has been adopted for a
more compact menswear section,
and a "digital waterfall" feature
highlights the menswear entrance,
presented as an "e-tunnel."
The beauty department features a
singular house design-a first for an
Asian department store-with each
brand sitting within a distinctive
Harvey Nichols gold frame. Here,
each brand space features a screen
for brand storytelling and space for
demonstrations and tutorials.
Dewar-Dixon says the approach is
"a different way to think about retail"
and has allowed the retailer to refocus on its fashionwear, with a view
to taking the concept to new markets
once it has been fully trialled, given
the smaller floorplate required.

PHOTO COURTESY OF STUDIO FOUR IV

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SALLY BEAUTY

PHOTO COURTESY OF KFC

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FORUM/B8TA

PLUGGED IN

3/20/20 12:39 PM

design:retail - March/April 2020

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