Micropole, a consulting firm specializing in digital transformation, has recently developed Feel'Tech, a neural headset based on EEG (electroencephalography) that analyzes human emotions in real time. Several use cases to enhance the customer experience have already been tested.
Revolutionize the point-of-sale customer experience in the luxury and beauty sector. This is the ambition of Micropole - which supports the LVMH Group, Givaudan and L'Oréal - with the launch of Feel'Tech, a technology focused on the sensorial experience. Combining neuroscience and artificial intelligence, it features an in-store EEG-based neural headset capable of deciphering customers' emotions live.
This innovation is primarily designed to help customers make their choice in-store: "In the luxury sector, emotion often outweighs reason. Whether it's a perfume, a bottle of wine & spirits or a bar of chocolate, it's not always easy to rationally determine which product has given us the most positive emotions. That's where technology comes in, and where analyzing customer emotions really comes into its own", explains Marion Scala, Head of Hi'Tech Luxury at Micropole.
At the same time, this technology offers marketing teams the advantage of enriching their databases. "Thanks to Feel'Tech, advertisers will be able to identify their customers' preferences. This will enable them to establish more precise customer profiles that take into account the emotional data obtained in response to sensory stimuli, and thus, in fine, better target their campaigns", continues Marion Scala. Feel'Tech has also been designed to meet consumers' current need for hyper-personalization. For the moment, the headset is not yet available on the market. " We haven't launched the project yet, but we've been in the development phase since the beginning of the year, with two leading perfume houses", explains the Hi'Tech Luxury manager.
A solution that must be accessible
Micropole's ambition is to democratize the use of Feel'Tech in the retail world. To achieve this, the group has set itself five key criteria. First, the technology must be accessible to brands. " If we want the headset to be deployed in as many points of sale as possible, its price must not exceed 500 euros", confides Marion Scala. In her opinion, the second criterion is ease of use. "Other helmets - such as the Emotiv helmet - already on the market don't necessarily meet this criterion. For example, they require the electrodes to be moistened before each use. That's not what we wanted to offer brands", she assures us. Another important feature for Micropole is design. "We focus on luxury brands. So it's crucial for us to offer an attractive device with a premium design that appeals to their clientele", says Marion Scala. The group also worked on facilitating data collection and customizing the headset to adapt to brands' visual identities.
