AI-powered skin analysis and image search capabilities: E-commerce platform's innovative tools help boost its sellers' business

A MOBILE phone camera - that's all shoppers need to run a skin diagnosis and analysis in under a minute in the comfort of their own home. This is done with Lazada's latest artificial intelligence (AI)-powered augmented reality capability, the Skin Test technology.

With the results of the diagnosis, shoppers will receive relevant product recommendations to help address their skincare concerns, whether they be fine lines, enlarged pores, dark spots or others.

Lazada Group chief technology officer Howard Wang unveiled the new innovation during the fourth edition of the LazMall Brands Future Forum (BFF) 2023 on Aug 31 at Marina Bay Sands. The Skin Test is just one of Lazada's many features and tools to help brands and sellers stand out from the competition and better market their products to online shoppers.

Using tech to sell effectively "We have introduced many AI-powered services and products that enhance customers' online shopping experiences and create value to our users," Wang reveals. "A few months back, we collaborated with OpenAI and launched the first e-commerce chatbot of its kind in South-east Asia, LazzieChat."

Tapping on Lazada's own AI technology and platform, LazzieChat uses the natural language capabilities of Azure OpenAI Service to answer users' shopping queries in multiple languages and offer personalised suggestions and product recommendations. It can also engage in more dynamic conversations with users, compared to traditional chatbots that often come with fixed responses.

Wang also shares that shoppers are increasingly using images to search for products, through an AI-powered feature that Lazada introduced in 2019 to provide greater convenience to the shopping experience. To address this growing trend and boost the creativity of its brands and sellers, Lazada introduced its Creative Centre, which uses AI-generated content to enhance the quality of their creative materials.

Brands can also leverage Lazada Sponsored Solutions, a full suite of paid on-platform and off-platform tools to help maximise the impact of their exposure, increasing traffic and sales. For example, partners who wish to refine their marketing strategy can use the Data Insights tool, with statistics on shopper behaviour, preferences and demographics. Through precise and personalised targeting, brands can then convert high intent shoppers into actual buyers.

Customer engagement is key In South-east Asia, a region seeing rapid technological advancements and increasing customer demand, Lazada recognises the need to build meaningful connections between brands and shoppers. To this end, the LazMall store membership programme is key.

For beauty brand Benefit Cosmetics, the programme has helped it grow its buyer base by over 40 per cent. This is attributed to the programme's ability to provide exclusive benefits like full-size products to loyal members who, in turn, continue to engage with and purchase from the brand.

Group chief business officer Jason Chen shares that as of July 2023, the programme has amassed over 13 million shoppers, a testament to its popularity and effectiveness in building brand loyalty. LazBeauty Club, a membership programme for the beauty category, has also seen its members contribute a 30-per-cent share of sales in the beauty category.

Potential of e-commerce in South-east Asia In his speech to the BFF attendees, Lazada's group chief executive officer James Dong highlighted that South-east Asia (SEA) has one of the world's fastest growing digital populations, with the e-commerce industry expected to grow to US $330 billion by 2025. From 2016 to 2021 alone, e-commerce's share of all retail sales in SEA grew from just 5 per cent to 20 per cent.

This remarkable growth draws attention to shifting consumer preferences and an increasing reliance on digital shopping platforms like LazMall. In recognition of the achievements and innovations within the e-commerce space, the BFF Awards 2023 honoured 24 top performing global and South-east Asian brands on LazMall. Among the winners were industry giants like Nike, Samsung and Unilever, who took home the most coveted LazMall Brand of the Year Award.

For brands looking to adopt emerging technologies, Wang has this to share: "First, focus on the technology that can help your product stand out from the competition for that early adopter advantage." He goes on to explain brands also need to target the right user. "Lazada has very rich data and data technology, with solutions that can help our brands to target the right customer through their life cycle."

Learn more or sign up as a LazMall seller here.