Ulta Beauty to Expand eCommerce Presence by Adding ‘Curated’ Marketplace

Digital acceleration, personalization and a new marketplace are on the agenda at Ulta Beauty, the company’s new CEO said Thursday (March 13) during a quarterly earnings call.

Kecia Steelman, who became the company’s president and CEO Jan. 6, said during the call that Ulta Beauty lost market share in the beauty category for the first time in 2024.

“The beauty landscape is fundamentally changed,” Steelman said. “Guest expectations continue to rise, and the pace of change is accelerating. The competitive environment in beauty has never been more intense.”

In this environment, Ulta Beauty intends to move faster, invest with purpose and optimize its business, Steelman said.

The company’s efforts to drive core business growth include accelerating its digital efforts by adding new and enhanced features to its app and website to elevate the guest experience.

These efforts also include accelerating personalization by increasing automation and real-time content across its digital channels to deepen guest engagement.

Ulta Beauty also aims to scale new and accretive businesses, in part by launching a new marketplace that will expand the company’s eCommerce presence and allow it to offer a broader range of beauty and wellness products.

The marketplace will be available to brands on an invitation-only basis so that Ulta Beauty can curate the selection. The company’s customers will be able to earn points on their marketplace purchases and will be able to return marketplace purchases to Ulta Beauty stores.

“So, we’re trying to make this as seamless as possible for our guests,” Steelman said during the call. “The plan is to launch this in the back half of 2025, and we’ve got a dedicated team that we’re building around selling and operations to operate this model.”

To aid in these efforts, Ulta Beauty has made several organizational changes, including adding the newly created roles of chief retail officer and chief technology and transformation officer.

Steelman became president and CEO upon the retirement of Dave Kimbell, who remains an adviser to the company through June 28. Steelman served as Ulta Beauty’s president and chief operating officer since 2023 and has been with the company since 2014.

“The consumers are navigating a dynamic macro environment, but we continue to expect the healthy consumer engagement with beauty,” Steelman said during the call. “While the category did slow in 2024, it continued to grow in the low- to mid-single-digit range.”