Whole Foods likes the look of virtual beauty try-on in its stores

An Amazon-owned organic grocer is joining an increasingly popular augmented reality (AR)-enabled trend in cosmetics retailing.

Whole Foods is deploying the Perfect Corp. YouCam virtual makeup app to support a try-on experience for natural beauty brand Mineral Fusion. Artificial intelligence (AI) and AR technology from Perfect Corp. enables Whole Foods customers to discover and experiment with the full range of color cosmetics offered by Mineral Fusion by scanning a QR code featured on the brand’s in-store displays to instantly try on products through their mobile device.

From there, customers are directed to a special Whole Foods virtual try-on landing page, where they can virtually tap and try on Mineral Fusion products directly from their phones before making in-store purchases. Shoppers can try on shades using a preselected model image, uploading a photo, or via live cameras. The Perfect Corp.-enabled virtual try-on experience is also available on the Mineralfusion.com website, via any mobile device or desktop. 

Virtual try-on is becoming an increasingly popular omnichannel feature offered by beauty retailers and brands. For example, Ulta Beauty delivers its AR-based Virtual Beauty Advisor and GlamLab mobile customer services utilizing Google Cloud artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. And Google is also partnering with Perfect Corp., as well as Modiface, to let consumers visualize makeup looks and try on beauty products directly from online and mobile search results.

“Mineral Fusion is thrilled to partner with the industry-leading solution provider Perfect Corp. and the leading natural retailer Whole Foods to help customers find the perfect shades of their favorite cosmetic items, no matter how or where they choose to shop,” said Stella Huang, director of digital marketing for Mineral Fusion.