search
Glossy Logo
Glossy Logo
Subscribe Login
  • Glossy+ Member Subscribe Now
  • Glossy+ homepage
  • My account
  • FAQ
  • Newsletters
  • Log out
  • Beauty
  • Fashion
  • Glossy+
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Awards
  • Pop
search
Glossy Logo
Subscribe Login
  • Glossy+ Member Subscribe Now
  • Glossy+ homepage
  • My account
  • FAQ
  • Newsletters
  • Log out
  • Beauty
  • Fashion
  • Pop
  • Glossy+
  • Events
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletters
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • instagram
  • email
  • email
Member Exclusive

How Ulta Beauty is serving its 44 million loyalty members

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
By Danny Parisi
Nov 18, 2024

Ulta Beauty is laser-focused on its loyalty members.

According to the company’s CMO, Michelle Crossan-Matos, over 96% of Ulta’s sales come from its millions of loyalty members. It stands to reason that “when we grow our loyalty membership, we grow our sales,” she said.

On November 13, Crossan-Matos spoke at the Glossy Beauty and Wellness Summit about Ulta’s loyalty membership, its approach to measuring success and its most recent campaign, the Joy Project.

Ulta’s loyalty membership has one of the highest penetration rates in beauty, with 70% retention. And it’s on track to reach 50 million loyalty members by 2028, a significant boost from its current 44 million. For comparison, Sephora’s Beauty Insider program counts over 40 million members. Ulta has 1,400 stores and more than 55,000 associates who are key to its focus on cross-generational shopping.

“Kids are starting to get into skin care and wellness at a younger age,” Crossan-Matos said, citing Ulta’s own research showing the youngest consumers start at eight years old. Seventy percent of parents with Gen-Alpha children said they consider shopping for skin care and beauty together to be a bonding experience.

“We see it in the stores,” she said. “Mothers and daughters, dads and sons, several generations all shopping together. Not only are we a destination for parents, but now we’re also for whole families.”

Crossan-Matos said one of the most valuable things Ulta has done in recent years is pay close attention to what its most loyal customers — those in the loyalty program — are asking for.

“Our members told us for a long time that they wanted to choose their birthday gift that they receive each year, so we made that happen,” she said. “They told us they wanted Charlotte Tilbury on Ulta, so we did it. It’s something that we will keep working on, but it adds a lot of value to the membership.”

Ulta’s next big area of focus will be “hyper-personalization,” Crossan-Matos said. As of October, the company has begun partnering with Adobe on a series of automated tools that will personalize its loyalty members’ experience. They’ll include product email reminders when a customer is running low on a certain product, based on their shopping history.

“Hyper-personalization is going to help us drive more relevancy by using every touchpoint we have,” Crossan-Matos said.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
Related reads
  • Glossy Pop Newsletter
    With Sincerely Yours, Sephora officially targets Gen Alpha
  • Marketing Playbook
    With a new partnership, Vegamour is betting on LinkedIn as the next big social platform
  • The Glossy Beauty Podcast
    Reinventing a heritage beauty brand with Borghese COO Dawn Hilarczyk — plus, industry news
Latest Stories
  • Glossy Pop Newsletter
    With Sincerely Yours, Sephora officially targets Gen Alpha
  • The Glossy Fashion Podcast
    Glossy Podcast: New leadership at Vogue, Proenza Schouler, layoffs at YNAP — and a luxury watches update with SwissWatchExpo CEO Eugene Tutunikov
  • Marketing Playbook
    With a new partnership, Vegamour is betting on LinkedIn as the next big social platform
logo

Get news and analysis about fashion, beauty and culture delivered to your inbox every morning.

Reach Out
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram
  • Threads
  • Email
About Us
  • About Us
  • Masthead
  • Advertise with us
  • Digiday Media
  • Custom
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
©2025 Digiday Media. All rights reserved.