AI beauty technology company Renude has published Volume 4 of its Renude Insights report (September 2026), exploring how agentic commerce, conversion optimisation and ingredient innovation are reshaping the beauty industry.

Agentic commerce: the next era of online shopping

• In a Bain & Company survey, 44% of US online buyers said they start their shopping journey in an LLM or split their search between AI tools and traditional search engines.
• In a McKinsey consumer survey, 46% of consumers in France, Germany and the UK use AI to discover or get inspiration for purchases, and 55% use AI to learn about a category or product.
• According to CI&T’s Retail Tech Report: Agentic Commerce Edition, 86% of consumers have either used an AI agent when shopping or are open to doing so.
• A report by Pattern Group found that 59% of beauty businesses are exploring AI agents, but only 27% are fully prepared for AI agents to become a primary channel for customer discovery and purchase.
• McKinsey & Company projects that AI agents could facilitate $3 trillion to $5 trillion in global commerce by 2030.
• The report distinguishes two types of agentic commerce experience. Non-owned experiences run on third-party platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Copilot, where the platform controls the experience. Owned experiences sit within a brand’s own website or app, powered by a specialist vendor such as Renude, so the brand keeps the interface, data and customer relationship.

Five ways to convert more of the traffic you already have

Written by Hannah Chapman, Founder of GlowRate:

• Make it crystal clear what you sell, and fast – Research found people form a visual judgement of a web page in as little as 0.05 seconds.
• Make your trust signals mean something – Name the expert, show their credentials, and say what award was won and why it matters.
• Lead with the outcome, then explain the why – 79% of British consumers already feel overwhelmed by the skincare market, according to Simple’s Simple Truth report, surveyed by Savanta.
• Design for how people actually shop – Build sites to be scanned, not read. One fragrance brand that shifted focus from copy to imagery saw conversion rise 38% and average order value rise 23%, with no redesign.
• Let your customers write your website – Reviews, live chat and agentic tool conversations, inbox questions and influencer post comments reveal the exact questions shoppers have before buying.

How consumers use Renude’s AI Skin Advisor

Based on three months of customer conversations, the top five themes were:

• Personalised product recommendations
• Building out a routine from one key product
• Understanding a product’s suitability
• Learning more about a product
• Searching by ingredient, with Vitamin C the top ingredient this quarter

Medik8 brings AI skin consultations to Sephora North America

• Medik8 launched into 250 Sephora stores in the US and 147 in Canada on 21 August, introducing in-store AI skin consultations powered by Renude. The consultations are delivered on the shop floor by Medik8 beauty advisors.
• Heather Bloomfield, Global Head of Communications at Medik8, said: “By partnering with Renude, we are thrilled to bring diagnostic technology into the physical retail environment. This collaboration enhances our customers’ in-store experience by leveraging technology and professional guidance, simplifying the route to great skin.”

Ingredient spotlight: PDRN

• PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) is a topical skincare ingredient inspired by the in-clinic injectable polynucleotides. It is used to support skin hydration, overall skin health and regeneration mechanisms, and it originated with Korean skincare brands before being adopted across the West.
• Featured products include the Medik8 Exo-Prismatic PDRN Serum, the Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum and the Rodial Salmon DNA Water Oil.

For more information and to download the full report, visit renude.co.