Puig launches new technology Ai.lice to enable shoppers to try out perfumes without smelling them

By

Sarah Ahssen

Translated by
Isabelle Crossley

Published
Sep 9, 2020

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, it is a priority for brands and retailers to offer reassurance to their customers and provide an enjoyable purchase route that remains in-line with health and safety measures. It is in this vein that Catalan group Puig, which counts brands including Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, and L’Artisan Parfumeur in its portfolio, has launched Ai.lice -- a technology that enable shoppers to get a sense of the composition of the scent of a perfume, without having to physically smell it or touch the bottle. 

When shoppers enter a perfume store with Ai.lice technology, they can scan a QR code with their smartphone. They can then focus their smartphone camera on the bottle or packaging of a fragrance at the perfume counter and the Ai.lice technology will show them the scent family of the fragrance as well as its main ingredients. The technology also shares information about similar products available in-store that match the consumer’s preferences.
 
For the launch of this new technology, Puig has created the digital tool ‘Magic Monocle’, which it is testing in its Asian and British stores for Penhaligon’s, one of the scents in its portfolio. The tool allows shoppers to browse the brand’s scent offerings as it creates a list of products to try and buy.

Puig, which reported a turnover of €2.029 billion ($2.396 billion) in 2019, launched Puig Futures in 2018 as a platform designed to develop digital and innovative technologies for the perfume industry. The current pandemic has certainly accelerated the launch and implementation of some of the brand’s technology developments.