American speciality beauty retailer Ulta Beauty has launched its marketplace, taking a step toward strengthening its digital presence. The marketplace, integrated into Ulta Beauty’s e-commerce site, features brands that were not carried in-store or online while maintaining its curation and trust. This is expected to enhance the retail experience journey, drive growth and set a new industry standard.
Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty recently announced that UB Marketplace, a curated marketplace dedicated to beauty and wellness, is live on ulta.com and Ulta Beauty app. As a key element of the ‘Ulta Beauty Unleashed’ strategy to scale new businesses, UB Marketplace expands Ulta Beauty’s e-commerce penetration and offers guests a broader, complementary assortment across beauty, wellness and adjacent lifestyle categories.
UB Marketplace is integrated into the Ulta Beauty shopping experience on ulta.com and the Ulta Beauty app to deliver a seamless guest experience, with unified search, cart and checkout, Ulta Beauty Rewards on eligible purchases, and in-store returns for UB Marketplace items. The platform is open, by invitation, to brands and not third-party sellers, to ensure guests receive exceptional product quality and experience.
‘UB Marketplace allows us to deliver more newness, faster entry into emerging subcategories and trends, and deeper category authority while keeping the guest experience unmistakably Ulta Beauty’, explains Lauren Brindley, chief merchandising and digital officer at Ulta Beauty, in a company statement. ‘This thoughtfully curated model scales discovery and brand building for our partners, and ensures guests enjoy the same benefits they love: Ulta Beauty Rewards, easy returns and a unified, trusted shopping experience.’
Shoppers will discover a curated selection of brands and product lines across categories such as wellness, grooming, personal care, luxury, global, and professional tools. They can explore over a hundred new brands on the platform including the plant-powered nail care of Manucurist, luxury home fragrances from Apotheke, grooming essentials from Oars + Alps, lash and brow innovations of Babe Lash, French skincare favourites Nuxe and A313, clean beauty from Ogee, and K-beauty inspired treatments from Saturday Skin.
Ulta Beauty plans to scale its UB Marketplace assortment over the next year. Let’s take a closer look at the key features of Ulta’s new marketplace, what it means for the beauty industry, and how it can enhance the retail experience.
What is Ulta Beauty’s Marketplace?
The Ulta Beauty Marketplace is a new online platform where customers can browse and shop from a variety of third-party sellers, alongside Ulta Beauty’s curated products. This shift moves Ulta Beauty beyond its traditional retail model, enabling it to expand its product range and diversify the shopping experience. Through this initiative, Ulta Beauty features an assortment of products that were previously unavailable in its physical stores, including niche beauty brands, exclusive launches, and items from global beauty innovators.
Why Is Ulta Beauty Launching UB Marketplace?
Ulta Beauty’s decision to launch the marketplace comes at a time when the beauty industry is experiencing a massive digital transformation. Consumers are increasingly shopping online and beauty brands are looking for new ways to reach customers outside of brick-and-mortar stores. Ulta Beauty’s marketplace strategy is aimed at tapping into this growing trend by leveraging its strong online presence to offer a diverse product selection. It also serves as a response to the growing popularity of platforms like Amazon and Sephora, which have capitalised on online sales for years.
Key Benefits For Consumers
UB Marketplace features a curated selection of beauty and wellness brands, carefully chosen and vetted by Ulta Beauty. These brands will complement the core assortment, reinforcing Ulta Beauty’s leadership in categories such as makeup, skincare, haircare, fragrance, and wellness. The marketplace will also feature exclusive brand collaborations, giving customers access to products they may not find elsewhere. While marketplace items will not be sold in Ulta Beauty stores, it is considering in-store pickup.
UB Marketplace plans to introduce promotions, discounts, and flash sales, giving shoppers opportunities to get the best value for their purchase. The marketplace has an integrated retail experience: Customers benefit from unified search, carts, order history, and in-store returns. Purchases made through UB Marketplace are eligible for Ulta Beauty Rewards and offer easy returns, either by mail or at any of Ulta Beauty’s stores.
UB Marketplace is powered by technology from Mirakl, which also built marketplaces for Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Madewell. Combined with Merkle’s strategic expertise, this initiative ensures robust seller tools, product data quality, reliable fulfilment and service integrations to support scale and consistency.
How Brands Can Join UB Marketplace
To ensure compliance with the high quality and performance standards at Ulta Beauty and to maintain a thoughtfully curated shopping experience for guests, brand participation is by invitation only. Brands interested in being considered can learn more about the process and apply at ulta.com/marketplace. ‘We’ve heard that loud and clear from our [customers], that they expect us to make sure that they’re getting first-class quality and first-class sellers, and not someone else trying to sell other people’s stuff. We take that obligation very seriously’, Josh Friedman, senior vice president of e-commerce and digital at Ulta Beauty told BoF.
Impact on the Beauty Industry
Ulta Beauty’s move to a marketplace model is expected to have a significant impact on the beauty retail sector. By embracing this model, Ulta is diversifying its product offerings and aligning itself with evolving shopping behaviours. The beauty industry is highly competitive, and the ability to provide more products, exclusive deals, and convenient shopping options could give Ulta Beauty an edge over its competitors. This marketplace model also opens new opportunities for beauty brands to reach a larger audience; smaller, independent beauty companies now have the opportunity to showcase their products on a well-established platform like Ulta, which could drive significant exposure and sales growth.
About Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty is the largest specialty beauty retailer in the U.S. and a leading destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skincare, haircare, wellness and salon services. Since opening its first store in 1990, Ulta Beauty has grown to 1,500 stores across the U.S. and redefined beauty retail by bringing together All Things Beauty. All in One Place®. With an expansive product assortment, professional salon services and its Ulta Beauty Rewards loyalty program, the company delivers personalised experiences across stores, ulta.com and the Ulta Beauty App. Ulta Beauty is also expanding its presence internationally through a joint venture in Mexico, a franchise in the Middle East, and its subsidiary, Space NK, a luxury beauty retailer in the U.K. and Ireland.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
