Try, Test, Discover: How Beauty Stores Are Making Shopping Interactive

A beauty appointment can now involve getting a close-up look at your scalp, discovering a perfume through an interactive installation or testing two fragrances together on your skin. Brands are finding new ways to make a store visit more engaging, giving customers reasons to spend time exploring rather than simply picking up their usual products.

But the appeal goes beyond novelty. With endless launches and online recommendations competing for attention, physical stores have an opportunity to offer something a screen cannot: the chance to ask questions, experiment and get advice tailored to you. The real test is whether you leave knowing something you didn't before.

Getting personal

Choosing skincare or haircare can feel like guesswork, particularly when every new launch promises to solve a different concern. This is where in-store assessments are finding their place. Bengaluru-based beauty-tech platform Flekt, developed by Kirix Innovations, brings AI-assisted skin and scalp analysis into salon consultations. A stylist uses a dermascope to photograph the customer's skin or scalp, with the images analysed for visible concerns such as redness, dryness, flaking, excess sebum and hair-shaft damage.

“Depending on the condition that needs to be prioritised, the system recommends the right products and services,” says Safal Adam, co-founder and CXO of Flekt. The platform also stores previous scans so stylists can track changes across consultations. While it isn't a substitute for a dermatologist's diagnosis, the process gives customers a visual reference for understanding what a stylist is recommending. It also raises a useful question: how much of a beauty consultation should be driven by technology, and how much by the expertise of the person interpreting it?

Personalisation doesn't always need a machine, though. At Kimirica, the discovery process is built around sampling and exploring products with help from the store team. Its stores bring together fine fragrances, bath and body, home scents and gifting, while complimentary hand spa experiences give customers another way to try the range. “A physical store makes discovery more personal, allowing customers to explore beyond their usual preferences,” says Kimi Jain, co-founder and head of brand experience. The idea is to make room for curiosity rather than push shoppers towards a fixed routine.

Little room to play

Fragrance, in particular, lends itself to experimentation. You can read about notes online, but it is harder to know how a perfume will develop on your skin or how two scents will work together. Kimirica's Sensory Pods, available at newer stores in Delhi, Indore and Mumbai, bring the inspiration behind fragrances to life through scent, sound and visuals. Customers place a perfume on the pod's sensor base to trigger its accompanying story. For Vivah EDP, this means visuals inspired by Indian weddings and the fragrance of marigold and lotus. “We want customers to discover how a scent can awaken cherished memories,” says Rajat Jain, co-founder and olfactory expert.

KAYALI founder Mona Kattan takes a more hands-on approach to fragrance discovery at the brand's Indian retail counters. Shoppers are encouraged to try fragrances individually before experimenting with layering them on their skin. One of her favourite combinations pairs Eden Juicy Apple | 01 with Vanilla | 28, bringing together fruity notes with the warmth of vanilla, brown sugar and tonka. “I always like to start with how someone wants to feel. Do they want something comforting, playful, romantic or confident?” she says. It is a reminder that discovering a fragrance needn't involve knowing every note or fragrance family; sometimes it starts with simply figuring out what you like.

Ultimately, the best beauty experiences are those that give shoppers something beyond a product recommendation, whether that is a better understanding of their skin, a new way to wear fragrance or the confidence to try something unfamiliar. A little play is welcome, as long as there is something useful to take home.

Published on: Sunday, November 15, 2026, 07:25 AM IST