Garnier is tapping shade matching technology from sister company ModiFace to assist consumers in finding their best hair color match using personalized technology.  The Virtual Shade Selector tool looks to tackle the hair color category’s top purchase barrier: finding the right shade.

Shade Selector is designed so that shoppers can find their Garnier hair color match in 60-seconds online and in-store, virtually trialing a range of Garnier shades personally recommended to them.

“Garnier has the largest selection of hair color shades at mass, so we can offer the most options to the consumer,” said Anncy Rowe, Senior Vice President of Garnier Marketing. “This is the first time we are using this technology and seeing results within the hair color category at mass retail.”

Shade Selector first launched through a website interface, accessible on a phone or computer. The Virtual Shade Selector with Modiface technology launches at 37 locations at select retailers in 2019. Walmart is piloting the program with 10 locations beginning in February.

At display screens at-shelf, the virtual education tool encourages shoppers to learn about and test all permanent Garnier hair color options, including Nutrisse, Olia and Color Sensation. Shoppers will be prompted to take a one-minute diagnostic test, and then they can virtually try on a range of recommended Garnier shades. To ensure an accurate recommendation, the tool takes each user’s current hair color, level of gray and desired end-look into account. A barcode scanning option has been incorporated to allow users to engage with the tool outside of what is recommended, so they can try on all Garnier shades available at shelf. Additionally, beauty advisors will be on-site at select locations to assist and provide live feedback in Walgreens stores.

“We will be comparing current sales versus pre-installation sales, and are using the same number of control doors at each retailer to better evaluate performance,” said Anncy.

Select Wakefern and Meijer stores will also launch the tool in-store beginning in March; 10 Walgreens locations will release the tool in-store in June. The pilot program will be available to shoppers for one year. Users are encouraged to tag @garnierusa and share photos through social media channels.