L'Oreal Group and Sainsburys iPad (1)

Source: L’Oreal Group

Sainsbury’s staff will be receiving iPads loaded with AI skincare tech by L’Oréal Group so they can offer customers personalised skincare advice and product recommendations.

Andrew Wheatcroft

Source: L’Oreal Group

In-store skincare consultations will be available at more than 100 stores with many getting dedicated “consultation take-over spaces”.

L’Oréal Group brands Garnier and L’Oréal Paris have trained Sainsbury’s beauty experts on L’Oréal Paris’ Skin Genius and Garnier’s Skin Coach tools, which use the beauty group’s ModiFace technology – which it gained in a 2018 acquisition.

The technology starts with a photo of the customer and measures factors like the severity of wrinkles, ‘radiance’, firmness of skin, pore quality, pigmentation and fine lines.

“The tool harnesses 20 years of research and a database of more than 15,000 faces to deliver personalised routines based on an individual user’s skin type and needs, simply by taking a selfie,” the company said.

“More than ever, we know that our consumers want to be sure they are making the right choices when spending their money, and the increased interest in their skin health and skincare needs is no exception,” said Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, chief marketing & digital officer, L’Oréal UK & Ireland. “L’Oréal Group’s acquisition of ModiFace is a key enabler for our beauty tech and innovation, allowing us to develop services that help create the future of beauty, which means customers can shop for tailored skincare in the supermarket aisles for the first time.”

L’Oréal Group said the new service sought to make skincare recommendations “more accessible” to customers in the grocery sector, a category that “continues to grow”.

“Our beauty experts play an important role in supporting customers shopping our beauty ranges in our stores and this fantastic technology will mean they can provide an even more tailored and personal service,” said Sophie Hogg, director of category – health & beauty at Sainsbury’s. “The combination of face-to-face interaction and technology really sets us apart from others and gives customers another compelling reason to stop by the beauty aisle when doing their grocery shop,” she added.