Slapp, created by well-known beauty editor Jamila Robertson, is essentially an e-commerce platform, allowing users to shop foundations, creams and concealers most suited to the skin type based on the image analysis of selfie.
Such catering to consumer demand for personalisation will particularly appeal to millennials, especially as digital beauty is also fast becoming an essential cornerstone of their beauty retail habits.
“Personalisation and interactivity is important in beauty care for millennials, with a rash of digital solutions emerging to appeal to their need for individual solutions,” explained Euromonitor International in its report on millennial consumer behaviour last year.
How does it work?
Slapp, the name derived from the British slang for makeup ‘slap’ fused with the word ‘app’, explicitly targets younger consumers and reportedly offers makeup solutions for every skin tone.
Products that match the user’s skin tone will be suggested by the app, which are then available to purchase and dispatched via next day delivery.
Speaking to WWD, app creator Robertson spoke of her intention for the app to specifically target millennials.
“As a mobile and makeup obsessive, I couldn’t see anyone else specifically targeting me or other Millennials on our native platform. It still baffled me that at a time when we all have phones with cameras and most makeup lovers love a good selfie, nobody had put the two together to solve this problem,” she said.
The launch is just one of many apps in recent months that have taken on the demand within beauty for a personalised skin care offering, including OBJ’s ConnectBeauty and the recently launched MDacne app.
Personalisation priority
Personalisation, or customisation, has repeatedly been picked out industry commentators of late as being a crucial trend for beauty up ahead, with consumers keen for product relevant to their specific mix of cultural, skin type and lifestyle needs.
Due to the high levels of digital connectivity of the younger consumers driving this demand, it is set to be a trend that plays out on a global stage, not limited to any particular region or market.
Indeed, according to Joanna Chan, beauty research analyst with Euromonitor International, it’s tipped to be one of the top four skin care demands from consumers in Asia.