MAC Cosmetics debuts next-generation product sampling with Perfect Corp and SoPost

MAC Cosmetics, an Estée Lauder-owned brand, is launching a next-generation product sample with Perfect Corp, a company that provides beauty tech solutions and SoPost, an online product sampling partner.

The unique product discovery journey combines hyper-realistic AR virtual try-on and personalized AI shade matching, with the convenience of physical product sampling delivered directly to customers. This tailored full circle consumer experience bridges the gap between digital and physical worlds, allowing consumers and brands to make more confident sampling and purchase decisions.

A new sampling experience powered by tech

This personalized product matching sample experience will be accessed through a call to action that sits across multiple activation points across the consumer journey including social platforms (Facebook and Instagram), and retailer and brand websites. For example, opt-in customers for MAC Cosmetics will receive a special email with a unique singe use link to “Claim a Studio Fix Fluid Foundation Sample”. Once clicked, this link will open to a special landing page that hosts the product-matching virtual try-on experience. Here, customers will receive an automatic shade-match from 67 inclusive shades that is the best fit for them with the option to claim the sample product that was suggested. Customers will then be prompted to fill in their personal shipping information and samples will be delivered to their home. Uniquely, and for the first time, the customer will receive a sample of the exact shade they are matched within the virtual experience itself - for a seamless end-to-end consumer experience.

“In an ever-evolving market where physical and digital is merged like never before, our next-generation VTO-driven SoPost experience combines shade-matching with sampling into one seamless customer journey. Allowing for a trial-driven product like foundation to become more accessible than ever,” says Fiona Sainty Vice President General Manager of MAC Cosmetics UK & Ireland. “We have been able to offer our customers the joy of trying shades digitally through our MAC Virtual Try On service since 2020, but we wanted to take it a step further and now we can not only match, but also offer a sample which is delivered to you in the comfort of your own home.”

“We are excited to partner with MAC Cosmetics and SoPost to pair virtual product discovery with physical product sampling for a new-age experiential product discovery journey,” shares Perfect Corp. Founder and CEO, Alice Chang. “Consumers continue to turn to product sampling as a means for making more confident purchase decisions. We’re excited to use AI and AR virtual try-on as a way to best match MAC customers with foundation samples that best fit for their skin tone in order to boost consumer purchase confidence and help companies better distribute physical samples.”

“The growth of virtual try on is a trend that we don’t see going away, and we’re thrilled to be working with the teams at MAC and Perfect Corp. to be taking the consumer experience a step further with samples delivered in-home,” explains SoPost Founder and CEO, Jonathan Grubin. “This first-to-market activation is an exciting development in the world of online sampling and demonstrates how people’s buying habits are changing - and how sampling can adapt,” he adds.