The Next Now of Retail — Thursday, 17 September, 11:45 AM–12:15 PM

The future of beauty retail will not be defined by individual sales channels but by how effectively brands connect every customer touchpoint, according to L’Occitane’s digital leadership, as the group accelerates investment in artificial intelligence, personalisation and AI-driven product discovery.
Published on Apr 30,2026 at 2:15 PM | Updated on Jul 28,2026 at 3:23 PM

The French beauty group, best known for its Provence-inspired skincare, fragrances and body care products, is reshaping its digital strategy around what it describes as a connected ecosystem, where physical stores, brand websites, marketplaces, social commerce and emerging AI platforms work together rather than compete for customers.

“Our strategy is increasingly focused on building a connected ecosystem rather than managing channels independently,” said Dorian Candavoine Director of E-commerce EMEA L’Occitane.

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The shift reflects a broader transformation as today’s shoppers move between multiple environments before making a purchase. A customer might discover a product through TikTok, search for reviews on Google, ask an AI assistant for recommendations, visit a brand website and then purchase in-store or through a marketplace.

“The customer journey is becoming much less linear. Consumers discover products through social media, marketplaces, search engines, AI assistants, our own website, and physical stores, often all within the same journey,” Candavoine said.

For L’Occitane, Brand.com remains central to its strategy because it provides the strongest direct relationship with customers and access to valuable first-party data.

“Brand.com remains a critical pillar because it is where we have the strongest relationship with customers and access to first-party data,” he said.

However, the company is also accelerating activity across marketplaces, partnerships and emerging social commerce platforms including TikTok Shop, while exploring new ways to improve product discovery.

“We are continuing to strengthen Brand.com, accelerate marketplaces and e-commerce, explore social commerce opportunities such as TikTok Shop, and improve how customers discover and engage with our products,” Candavoine said, while he noted the rise of artificial intelligence as fundamentally altering how consumers find and evaluate products online.

Historically, ecommerce discovery was built around keywords. Customers searched for specific terms, browsed categories and filtered products based on predefined criteria. AI is changing that behaviour by allowing shoppers to ask more complex questions and receive personalised recommendations.

“The biggest impact of AI is the way consumers discover products. Historically, customers navigated websites through categories and keywords. Increasingly, they expect more natural and conversational experiences. They are asking complete questions, looking for recommendations, and expecting brands to understand intent rather than specific keywords,” he said.

That evolution has major implications for retailers because visibility will increasingly depend on whether products can be correctly understood and recommended by AI systems.

“This shift is happening across search engines, marketplaces, social platforms and brand websites,” he said. “As a result, brands need to think less about channels and more about ensuring their content, product information and customer experience can be understood and surfaced by AI systems. In many ways, AI is helping recreate online the type of personalised advice customers traditionally receive from a beauty advisor in-store.”

L’Occitane is already deploying AI across several areas of its business, with customer experience a major focus. The company is rolling out a new AI-powered search engine across its websites designed to move beyond traditional ecommerce search functions. The group is also investing in personalisation and recommendation engines, aiming to make customer journeys more relevant by using data to better understand individual needs and preferences.

“The objective is to move beyond traditional keyword-based search and create a more intuitive experience that understands customer intent, handles natural language queries, and helps customers find relevant products faster,” Candavoine said.

But he believes one of the most important areas of AI adoption is not necessarily customer-facing. It is ensuring businesses have the digital foundations required to succeed in an AI-driven retail environment.

L’Occitane is focusing heavily on what he describes as “AI readiness” — improving product information, reviews, FAQs, product feeds and structured data so that AI tools can accurately interpret and recommend its products. Internally, AI is also being used to improve efficiency across the organisation, supporting teams with translation, reporting automation, data analysis and process optimisation.

“One of our biggest successes has been moving beyond experimentation and focusing on practical business applications,” he said, with the strongest opportunities directly connected to customer experience and commercial performance, including search, recommendations, personalisation and content optimisation.

“The opportunity ahead is significant because AI is changing how consumers discover and evaluate products,” Candavoine said. “In my view, this could have an impact on commerce comparable to the rise of mobile or social media. The challenge is that AI is not simply a technology project. Success depends heavily on data quality, content quality, governance and adoption within the organisation.”

For retailers attending Paris, Candavoine believes the priority should be solving real business problems rather than adopting AI for its own sake.

“My advice would be simple,” he said. “First, start with a business problem, not with AI itself. The most successful projects are usually those that solve a tangible customer or operational challenge. Data quality, product information, content and governance are often more important than the AI model itself. For me, the question is no longer whether AI will transform commerce. The question is how quickly businesses can adapt to changing consumer expectations and turn that transformation into value for their customers.”