Ulta Beauty shares data with NielsenIQ
The largest U.S. specialty beauty retailer will both provide and receive strategic data in new collaboration.
Ulta Beauty is entering an agreement with consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ (NIQ) that will see the retailer share sales data for inclusion in NIQ’s forthcoming Full View of Beauty channel. In addition, Ulta Beauty will leverage NIQ as a primary beauty insights panel provider, using the company's Omnishopper and Digital Purchases solutions to support enterprisewide insights and analytics.
NIQ’s Full View of Beauty will integrate retail measurement with consumer-level insights to provide a view of what consumers buy, where they shop, and why. And as Ulta Beauty’s primary beauty insights panel provider, NIQ will provide shopper insights through Omnishopper, which reflects consumers’ total trip behavior across online and offline environments as captured by a panel of 250,000 consumers.
Omnishopper will be complemented by Digital Purchases, which provides granular visibility into e-commerce transactions.
"Ulta Beauty is a leading authority on beauty and consumer trends, informed by our nearly 47 million loyalty members and unmatched insight into how consumers discover, explore and shop the category," said Lauren Brindley, chief merchandising officer, Ulta Beauty. "Our collaboration with NIQ will help translate that insight into smarter decisions for our business and our brand partners, reinforcing our commitment to building brands and driving growth across the beauty ecosystem."
Ulta Beauty is partnering with NIQ as it is extending its digital commerce presence across emerging platforms. The retailer has been an early collaborator with Google in developing the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard for agentic AI-based commerce intended to cover the entire shopping journey from discovery and buying to post-purchase support.
On its own digital properties, the retailer is launching Ulta AI, a new AI shopping assistant built on Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience. The beauty giant is also rolling out agentic commerce within AI mode in Google search and the Gemini app over the next month. Shoppers will be able to receive Ulta Beauty product recommendations, compare options and complete streamlined checkout for eligible purchases directly within Google's conversational agentic interfaces.
[READ MORE: Ulta enters Google Agentic AI partnership]
The retailer also recently introduced the Ulta Beauty Roster, a collective of professional female athletes with their own digital trading cards for purchase and product discovery, and became the first beauty & wellness retailer with a digital storefront on TikTok Shop.
"As the largest specialty beauty retailer in the U.S., Ulta Beauty plays a defining role in where the category is headed," said Jacqueline Flam, managing director, Beauty & Health, NIQ. "This collaboration accelerates our mission to democratize access to beauty data, giving brands of every size the clarity and confidence to turn insight into action through NIQ’s Full View of Beauty."
Founded in 1990, Ulta Beauty is the largest specialty beauty retailer in the U.S. and operates than 1,500 stores across the U.S. and is also expanding its presence internationally through its subsidiary, Space NK, a luxury beauty retailer operating in the U.K. and Ireland, its joint venture in Mexico, and its franchise in the Middle East.
