The Rio DermaCenter.

Dermocosmetics are bringing new shoppers to duty free and travel retail says L’Oréal, which is currently expanding its DermaCenter retail concept into the channel, the latest having opened at Rio de Janeiros’s Galeão International Airport.

L’Oréal Travel Retail’s DermaCenter installations – which have their strongest footprint in Asian DF&TR – are led by the Vichy and La Roche-Posay brands. The division says that they are leading to incremental sales by “enhancing the traveller’s shopping experience through a unique product offer combined with personalised skincare diagnostics and recommendations”.

Large roll-outs of thematic animations such as ‘Healthy Skin under the Sun’, ‘Pollution & UV’ and ‘Anti-ageing for Sensitive Skin’ – have helped to leverage the dermoscosmetics category, claims the French beauty giant.

Services offered to customers such as the La Roche-Posay Skin Checker that aims at encouraging people to check their beauty spots in a simple way, or the newly-launched La Roche-Posay stretchable UV patch – plus an app to provide personalised information – are creating interest.

L’Oréal Travel Retail says: “Initial data indicate that this brand activation led to one out of two customers being recruited to the travel retail channel and 80% of purchases being incremental.”