L’Oréal Uses Virtual Makeup Testing to Boost Online Sales

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Category: Business

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. acquire / əˈkwajɚ / (v) – to gain or own something
    Example:

    My mother acquired the business after my grandfather died.


  2. flourish / ˈflɚrɪʃ / (v) – to do well or succeed
    Example:

    The company flourished after the new CEO took over.


  3. propel / prəˈpɛl / (v) – to move something in a specific direction, usually forward
    Example:

    Social media ads propelled our company’s sales by 5% last year.


  4. forefront / ˈfoɚˌfrʌnt / (n) – the leading or most important position or part
    Example:

    The CEO believes that his company is at the forefront of technological innovation after receiving positive reviews from customers.


  5. leverage / ˈlɛvərɪʤ / (v) – to use something for one’s benefit
    Example:

    For our advertisements, we need to leverage our partnerships with some local messaging apps.


Article

Read the text below.

Cosmetics company L’Oréal has partnered with Facebook to boost online sales using virtual makeup testing technology.


L’Oréal recently acquired ModiFace, a firm specializing in augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI), to help create a makeup testing program on Facebook. The program shows L’Oréal products as interactive ads that allow users to virtually try on makeup while using the Facebook camera.


According to L’Oréal chief digital officer Lubomira Rochet, virtual makeup tests helped the company increase its sales. For the first half of 2018, L’Oréal reported a total revenue of 13.39 billion euros with a 6.6% sales growth. The report showed that the company flourished in e-commerce, which represented 9.5% of the total sales. Rochet said that social media, in particular, greatly propels the company’s online sales.


L’Oréal’s CEO hopes that the good sales figures can give the company the confidence to be at the forefront of the cosmetics industry this year.


Apart from the virtual makeup testing program, L’Oréal also launched a conversational commerce initiative, a form of advertising that uses messaging apps to help shoppers. In 2017, the company released an AI chatbot called the Beauty Gifter on Facebook Messenger with the aim of making gift giving easy. The giver simply has to let the receiver answer questions. Based on the answers, the AI processes the receiver’s preferences and then recommends gifts from L’Oréal’s products. This initiative to personalize advertising is a move that L’Oréal is leveraging on in the digital media age.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

• Do you think that L’Oréal’s initiatives are effective digital marketing strategies? Why or why not?
• Do you think other brands should also invest in AR to boost their online sales? Explain.

Discussion B

• Why do you think companies try to come up with new advertising strategies instead of using traditional ones (e.g. commercials, print)? Discuss.
• In your opinion, what characterizes a good online advertisement? Explain.