Ulta, Old Navy and Mercari Rise in Holiday Shopping App Usage

Who’s going to win the digital wallet for the holidays? It was a question we asked as November started. A quick check of the PYMNTS app provider shopping rankings for October showed a few surprises climbing up the ranks. The PYMNTS.com Shopping Apps page offers a monthly ranking of smartphone Shopping Apps, assessing them based on publicly available information and exclusive app usage data, helping users identify the top performers in the market. The ranking aims to provide precise insights into app performance, aiding stakeholders in making informed decisions.

Let’s start with the winner. The company bills it as a one-stop digital storefront for makeup, skincare, and haircare. It must be doing something right because Ulta Beauty saw a 6-point rise in the PYMNTS app provider rankings in October.

It coincides with upgrades that deepened personalization and simplified checkout. The app anchors Ulta’s eCommerce and loyalty strategy, letting customers shop 25,000 products, book salon and skincare services, and experiment virtually with its AR-powered GLAMlab feature for shade and style matching. Its Ultamate Rewards® program, used by more than 42 million members, is fully integrated into the app, letting users track points, redeem offers and access app-only promotions. That mix of convenience, self-service and loyalty incentives helped propel Ulta six points higher in PYMNTS’ latest app provider rankings for the shopping category.

A version 10.7 update released October 21 added a redesigned loyalty module, support for Venmo payments and stability fixes aimed at making mobile checkout faster and more reliable. Just a week earlier, Ulta launched its new “UB Marketplace,” expanding its in-app assortment with more than 100 emerging and prestige brands. Together, the marketplace expansion and payment and loyalty upgrades gave customers more ways to shop and pay, driving engagement as holiday promotions began to ramp up. The timing suggests Ulta’s digital investments are paying off, positioning the retailer’s app as both a sales engine and a customer-retention platform heading into the holiday season.

Another update success story comes from Old Navy, which jumped five points in the rankings. In broad terms, the Old Navy app functions as a full-service mobile storefront for the brand’s value-fashion offering, covering women’s, men’s, kids’, baby and maternity ranges. The app offers product search/filter tools, in-store barcode scanning, favorite-lists, one-tap checkout (including Apple Pay/PayPal) and purchase options such as online order + in-store pickup.

The app also supports the brand’s “Super Ca$h” loyalty coupon program where eligible purchases earn redeemable credit and Navyist Rewards, meaning that savings and loyalty functions are embedded in the digital flow. Together, these features help the app drive omnichannel engagement, blending promotions, value pricing, convenience and savings in one place.

The app was updated in late October (version 16.1.0 on iOS released Oct 23, 2025) with “enhancements and bug fixes” flagged in the version notes. While no major new feature is publicly described in the update notes, that timing aligns with seasonal value-retail dynamics (back-to-school transitioning to holiday deals, increased promotion intensity) and the brand’s ongoing behind-the-scenes investments such as its multi-year roll-out of AI-powered RFID inventory technology in stores (via the RADAR platform) designed to enhance the cross-channel experience. Taken together, the combination of a fresh app build, pro-savings “Super Ca$h” events, and the brand leaning hard into promotions in October likely drove higher engagement and helped lift the app’s standing in the provider rankings.

Rounding out the top three was Mercari with a three point climb. Mercari operates as a mobile-first marketplace where individuals can both buy and sell a wide array of items from clothing and electronics to collectibles and vintage goods. According to the App Store listing, the app allows users to list items in seconds, negotiate via “Offers to Likers,” bundle items for consolidated shipping, use discounted prepaid shipping labels and receive payments quickly—including via an “Instant Pay” option. Its appeal lies in the combination of convenience (mobile listing + checkout), strong discounting (items up to 70 % off retail), and a large and engaged user base of buyers and sellers.

The October gain may reflect a convergence of several drivers. First, Mercari’s shipping label framework remains a strong value-proposition for sellers, with prepaid labels offering “an average of 40 % savings compared to retail carrier rates” as of mid-2025. Second, Mercari introduced a “Market Search” feature in July that gives users visibility into current market prices for items, potentially ramping listing and trading activity by improving pricing transparency.

Third, although not tied explicitly to October, the company’s broader changes, such as its updated fee structure from January 2025 (10 % seller fee, 3.6 % buyer protection fee) and ongoing mobile enhancements like passkey authentication support (over 10 million passkeys registered), suggest the platform is optimizing trust and ease-of-use. When combined with typical seasonal behavior (users decluttering ahead of holidays, sellers listing earlier for October engagement) the confluence of features and timing likely boosted usage and helped drive the ranking uplift.