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EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Ulta Beauty enhances personalization of loyalty program

Ulta Beauty Rewards
Ulta Beauty is leveraging Adobe technology to serve loyalty members.

Ulta Beauty continues leveraging data from its customer loyalty program to enhance member experience.

The beauty giant recently implemented the Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Capabilities (CDP) solution in an effort to more effectively utilize loyalty program data to better understand the unique preferences of loyalty members and enable. more detailed and accurate customer audience segmentation.

Ulta Beauty seeks to deliver automated, personalized and seamless loyalty content in real time across all channels, including social media, customer app, and in-store. Real-Time CDP works by instantly gathering and updating customer profiles the moment they interact with Ulta, such as making a purchase, browsing products, or adding items to their cart.

These real-time capabilities allow Ulta Beauty to respond immediately to potential loyalty member needs, offering personalized recommendations, targeted promotions, and content tailored to their preferences. 

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Kelly Mahoney, senior VP of customer marketing at Ulta Beauty, and Josh Friedman, VP of digital products at Ulta, about how the retailer is building upon a relaunch of its loyalty program which began in January 2024.

[READ MORE: Ulta rebrands, upgrades rewards program]

What issues was Ulta facing with its loyalty program? 

Mahoney: With 44 million members, Ulta Beauty Rewards is the largest loyalty community in the beauty category and accounts for approximately 95% of our transactions. We continually leverage data and insights from our millions of members to better understand their unique needs and preferences and adapt our strategies to deepen and grow guest engagement and loyalty.

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Our analysis shows that beauty is deeply personal and is intrinsically connected to emotional and physical well-being, so we recognize the importance of delivering the most personalized experience for each of our customers. 

That’s why we partnered with Adobe to more effectively leverage loyalty program data so we can better understand the unique preferences of loyalty members and deliver personalized experiences at scale.

What have the results been? 

Friedman: We are already seeing the results of this partnership in unlocking new capabilities across the shopper journey, which are showing up in a more connected way for customers.

Ulta has expanded personalization across our digital channels with enhanced product recommendations, replenish reminders, site experiences, and retargeted and social channels. 

Leaning into targeted lifecycle campaigns in both owned and paid channels, we reactivated members with greater efficiency. Additionally, we grew our platinum and diamond member base, leveraging unique incentives like exclusive and early access to key events and brand launches, gifting, and personalized offers that drive engagement.

What are Ulta Beauty’s future plans for your loyalty program?

Mahoney: After more than a decade of providing our loyalty program, Ulta still sees tremendous opportunity for continued growth and have set a near-term goal to reach 50 million members by 2028. 

One of the ways we intend to reach our goal is by creating authentic, personalized experiences across our channels as a way to drive differentiation, loyalty, and meaningful business value. Our North Star is to create a fully automated personalization engine that will dynamically adjust in real-time as users interact with our brand, creating highly personalized experiences at scale. 

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