Marking a key milestone in its North American expansion, British skincare brand Medik8 has rolled out across 250 Sephora locations in the United States and 147 in Canada. As part of this retail launch, the brand is introducing in-store AI skin consultations powered by Renude.
Delivered directly on the shop floor by Medik8 beauty advisors, these consultations began in August. In a matter of minutes, customers can experience firsthand skincare advice, tailored to their needs, thanks to Renude's technology.
How the consultation works
A customer answers a short set of questions about their skin, then has photographs taken for analysis. Our system, built by dermatologists and formulation scientists, returns an assessment covering the customer's skin priorities and the condition of their skin barrier, and generates a personalized routine from the Medik8 range. Each recommendation comes with an explanation of why it was selected and which ingredients target the customer's specific skin goals.
The whole process takes a few minutes. The advisor then handles any follow-up questions, and the customer can buy in store.
Advisor-led rather than self-serve
One detail is worth highlighting, because it is a deliberate choice rather than an implementation detail. Medik8 has not put a self-serve tool in front of customers in-store. It has equipped trained advisors with the technology.
The bet is that an AI-assisted approach produces more meaningful human interactions in a retail environment, not fewer. The analysis does the part a person cannot do quickly or consistently, and the advisor does the part no software can: reading the customer, judging what matters to them, and answering the question behind the question.
"By partnering with Renude, we are thrilled to bring diagnostic technology into the physical retail environment," said Heather Bloomfield, Global Head of Communications at Medik8. "This collaboration enhances our customers' in-store experience by leveraging technology and professional guidance, simplifying the route to great skin."
Building on a run of UK activations
Medik8 has used the same service across a series of UK retail activations, including the Space NK experience at the Beyond Beauty Festival in Covent Garden this month, and at Sephoria, Sephora's annual global beauty festival, which comes to London in October for the first time.
Why this matters to us
Renude licenses its AI Skin Advisor to beauty brands for use on their own websites and, increasingly, in physical retail. Moving onto the shop floor is a meaningful extension of that, and Medik8 is a fitting partner for it.
"We are honored to be partnering with Medik8 to support their milestone launch into Sephora North America," said Pippa Harman, CEO at Renude. "As such a scientifically rigorous, evidence-based brand, we share many values at Renude which make this such a strong partnership. Our team of skin experts at Renude are also loyal fans of the brand, so the whole team is very excited about this launch."
You can read more about our work with beauty brands and retailers in our case studies, or book a demo to talk about your own stores or site.
