The client had an in-store application that let buyers browse through the range of products and pricing. They wanted to build upon this, and create an exceptional in-store experience for their customers, and increase the time spent in-store. The idea was also to support the store team to cater to more customers. The prestigious beauty retailer decided to introduce an immersive virtual try-on for the stores to deliver a frictionless and delightful customer experience. YouCam, a leading solution providing augmented reality and artificial intelligence technology was chosen for this.

Srijan was instrumental in integrating the virtual try-on solution with the existing in-store application, along with a custom scalable backend that gives the clients full control over the content interface. 

Goal 

The objective of the project was to build a highly engaging and frictionless technology platform to aid in-store beauty advisors meaningfully engage with customers.

A key measure of success on the project was to increase the number of virtual trials, improve engagement, ensure effecient service,  and ultimately increase the buyer’s basket size.

The Challenge

The client decided to integrate YouCam with its existing application which was being used to provide buyers with product information. However, the integration brought its own set of challenges.

The existing in-store application didn't have an interface by which product updates could be made. All product updates had to be made via the YouCam console, which is not customizable to business-specific requirements. This meant all the information related to the product—price, category, and availability in the store— could only be done by YouCam's team. The result was a cumbersome process that led to time and efficiency lapses.

In short, the brand managers responsible for the stores were dependent on an external team to do the product updates. Srijan recommended the use of Drupal as the backend to the application to overcome this challenge. 

The Solution 

The solution revolved around:

Integrating the AR Engine

The client beauty application was integrated with YouCam through an SDK. The YouCam SDK synced the virtual makeup components (like product color, shade, finish) directly from the YouCam CMS for the client application. This ensures that the application can provide the best AR experience.

Creating a product repository and content management platform

To overcome the challenges of delayed information updates, Drupal was introduced. Drupal was implemented to sync with both YouCam and the client application, to act as a single source of truth for all the beauty products.

The business logic of products like region, affiliate, store, device, metadata (Color / Intensity / Shade / Finish), location-specific availability of each product, was stored and managed on Drupal. It also was used to personalize the presentation through local languages.

Drupal makes it easy for the client team to access the application backend and makes managing and updating product information agile and independent of third-party teams. This ensures that customers can always access the full range of the client's products on the virtual try-on app.

Technology Stack 

Drupal, React, YouCam

Business Benefits

Introducing Drupal as the backend CMS eased the process of information entry allowing the client team to quickly update information through both manual and bulk uploads. This gives them the ability to keep the momentum going around a product launch.  It also ensures that product updates and application maintenance can be done regularly by the client team. A streamlined process for managing products on the application also translates into a frictionless try-on experience for the customers, because they can always try the latest products, and know product price and availability upfront.

• Instant try-on, more trials, higher engagement: Buyers can easily try out various products via the YouCam integration, and access product information like price and product availability as well. They now have longer in-store sessions with more virtual product trials. And since it's on a self-serve app, the need for in-store advisors to be at hand is significantly reduced.

• Reduced sample costs: The client now spends less on keeping samples and restocking them. This has reduced the operating costs of stores.
  
• Increased sanitation: The no-touch make up experience allows buyers to avoid the messy in-store shopping experience.
• Saved time: The application is easy to use and helps buyers decide on product options quickly. 
• More customers can be attended to: In-store beauty advisors don't have to be in attendance with one customer at a time and can help multiple customers.

With these benefits, the client was able to transform the virtual try-on experience, making it more streamlined for its beauty advisors, and delivering a more immersive and engaging experience for their customers.

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