EXCLUSIVE: Living Proof Enters the Metaverse
Living Proof is taking on the metaverse.
The science-based hair care brand has partnered with immersive e-commerce platform ByondXR to host a virtual storefront in which consumers can not only shop Living Proof products, but explore the brand’s research and development lab, take an AI hair quiz and visit the Living Proof salon.
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“Living Proof is so rooted in academia and innovation, and we want to ensure that story does not get lost,” said Alexis Tedesco, chief marketing officer of the brand, which was founded in 2005 by MIT professor Robert Langer and venture capitalist and entrepreneur Jon Flint. “Our storefront is about pulling back the curtain, so to speak, and giving our consumers a peek into our world — and our world starts in the lab.”
Throughout the space, visitors can read consumer testimonials, win discounts and receive free samples, learn about the brand’s proprietary hair bond-building technology introduced last year, and shop products tailored to their needs based on their hair quiz results. A last-stop Sustainability Corner highlights the brand’s partnership with TerraCycle and how consumers can recycle Living Proof products.
“The strategy behind the storefront is to not just have people be able to learn about our products, but actually help them identify the regimen they need — the virtual consultation is the priority,” Tedesco said.
Launched in partnership with AI platform Revieve in 2022, Living Proof’s hair quiz pairs front-end personalization through a series of questions with a diagnostic tool that assesses hair needs via a selfie submitted by the consumer. The brand reports a 22 percent average order value increase for customers who take the quiz versus those who don’t.
According to Tedesco, the quiz — and its presence in the storefront — is a key continuation of the brand’s “retail-first” (as opposed to salon-first) approach, through which Living Proof aims to make it increasingly straightforward for consumers to gain expert advice toward a suitable, individualized hair regimen.
“We’re kind of in this test-and-learn phase. Certain verticals, like fashion, can more easily dive right into the true metaverse; for us, it’s about taking a measured approach, seeing what resonates with our community and using that to help inform our future decisions in the space,” Tedesco said.
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