For Ulta Beauty, Personalization and Diversity Are Keys to Success

It’s no coincidence that Ulta Beauty’s first acquisitions help it personalize services. The beauty retailer, which now has roughly 32 million loyalty program members, is trying more than ever to connect with shoppers “on a more human level, on a more personalized level,” and is using technology to do so, according to Dave Kimbell, Ulta’s president, chief merchandising and marketing officer. It’s part of evolving Ulta’s brand story now that customers have more awareness about the retailer’s mass and prestige beauty proposition. Kimbell, who said he enjoys working in the beauty category, noted the market’s importance to consumers. “It is an awesome category, it is just so personally connected to everybody. The thing that gets me really excited is that beauty plays such an important role to nearly everybody that walks into one of our stores.…It is such a part of how they show up in the world, it’s part of the confidence it helps them be their best selves — they love it, they think it’s fun,” he said. While there’s a big desire to connect with beauty, there’s a level of dissatisfaction with consumers not necessarily feeling represented by the category. “Now consumers are taking things into their own hands, driving change,

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