Tech Bytes from Retail & Tech No 16

The latest tech news to inform and inspire

  • Beauty Tech Live. BW Confidential has partnered with Moodie Davitt Virtual Expo Company, a leading business publisher and virtual event organizer, to launch a new virtual event focusing on the worlds of beauty and technology. Called Beauty Tech Live, the event is the first virtual expo that will bring together in one place the latest tech innovations and solutions for the beauty industry. This new B2B event, which will take place next March will be a must-attend for executives in all sectors of the beauty industry: Retailers, brands, suppliers and packagers. Beauty Tech Live complements BW Confidential’s increased focus on how digital is impacting and driving the beauty industry, an area we have been covering in this dedicated Retail &Tech newsletter, which launched in June.
  • TikTok interactive ads. Short-video platform TikTok says that its users perceive advertising on its platform as authentic and positive. According to a TikTok-commissioned study by Nielsen, 61% of TikTok users feel that advertising on TikTok is unique among top social and video platforms. Some 43% of heavy TikTok users feel that the advertising on TikTok blends in with the content. Some 88% of users said that they discover new content that they enjoy while using the app, while 52% said they discover new products through advertisements posted by a product or brand.
  • Sourcing social media. Some 38% of Gen Z women say they get information on skincare through social media, 10 points greater than for women aged 18+, according to The NPD Group’s Women’s Facial Skincare Consumer Report, 2020.
  • e.l.f. Beauty’s digital push. US beauty company e.l.f. Beauty has launched a string of new digital initiatives this year. The company has made a major push on social-media platform TikTok with its #eyeslipsface hashtag clocking 6.4 billion views as of October 9. The company launched the TikTok-based “Eyes. Lips. Famous.” reality show in September with influencers Avani Gregg, Madi Monroe and Seth O’Brien who have a total combined TikTok following of 42.2 million users. It also pushed online-to-offline through a partnership with UK retailer Superdrug to install “Trending on TikTok” stands in Superdtug stores. In addition, the company announced that it has partnered with AI and AR beauty company Perfect Corp to offer virtual make-up try-ons for its Halloween make-up collection.
  • Snap’s first commercials. Brands will now have the chance to make sure their ads are immediately seen when people start watching shows in Snapchat Discover. Snap has launched a new non-skippable six-second ad format that is guaranteed to be seen as the first ad of the day. The company ran a pilot of the format in April. The social-media platform has 238 million users.
  • NYX Cosmetics France goes live. NYX Cosmetics France launched Live Shopping last week in partnership with shopping platform Livescale. The first episode in the series featured make-up artist and influencer Sananas, who has 2.3 million followers on Instagram and three million followers on YouTube. Livescale says its video streaming e-commerce solution has an average 9.5% sales conversion rate.