New Sephora Skincare IQ aims to revolutionize retail skin care consultations

SAN FRANCISCO — Beauty retailer Sephora launched this month at select locations its new Sephora Skincare IQ, which is in-store technology to make addressing skin care concerns faster, smarter and simpler.



In 60 seconds or less, Sephora Skincare iQ helps clients address a myriad of skin concerns through a series of deductive questions, simplifies the product selection process by cross-referencing Sephora’s full skin care assortment across 1,200-plus SKUs and 60 brands, and is an aid to the skin care consultation in store.



“Sephora Skincare iQ is another demonstration of our pioneering vision in client service,” stated Mary Herald, EVP of Sephora education. “By bringing interactive technology to our skin care services, we are continuing to elevate what personalized and impartial product advice means to our clients.”



Sephora Skincare iQ addresses the top 10 skin concerns most commonly discussed in store and on BeautyTalk, Sephora’s social beauty site. Users can choose up to two concerns to address in one session (e.g., pores, fine lines and wrinkles, dark spots and uneven tone, dryness, oiliness, dullness and uneven texture, firmness and elasticity, acne or blemishes, redness or eyes). Based on the selections, the program will ask additional questions to address concerns before producing product recommendations. From there, consumers can sort by price, rating, best-sellers and relevance, as well as jump to other categories (e.g., cleansers, treatments or moisturizers). In addition, a glossary is built into the program to link prevalent ingredients on product pages to descriptive definitions.



By utilizing touchscreen technology, clients can browse new product launches, top sellers and search by brand, product type or product name, as well as email themselves their wish list for reference.