Screenshot 2025-08-04 at 09.00.58

- 25:21

Interview

or listen on

Inside Ulta Beauty’s Digital Transformation: From Personalization to Marketplace

📍 Singapore

At NRF APAC 2025 in Singapore, Josh Friedman, Senior Vice President of Digital & E-commerce at Ulta Beauty, shared how the company is redefining beauty retail through a blend of personalization, innovation, and omnichannel strategy. With more than 1,400 stores, 45 million loyalty members, and a track record of double-digit e-commerce growth, Ulta is setting the pace for what modern beauty shopping can be.

Central to Ulta’s approach is the seamless integration of digital and physical experiences. Initiatives like Shop My Store give customers real-time visibility into local inventory, while partnerships with DoorDash and Instacart enable same-day delivery from any of Ulta’s store locations. The company’s 200,000-member online community is quickly becoming a space where customers, brands, and Ulta associates connect over product recommendations, trends, and events. “It’s really about being relevant and telling her what she wants to hear instead of what we want to say,” Friedman noted.

Ulta is also expanding its product ecosystem with a curated, invitation-only beauty and wellness marketplace set to launch this fall. This platform will allow hundreds of vetted sellers to join the Ulta experience without compromising the brand’s commitment to quality and trust. The marketplace not only opens new revenue streams but also provides a testing ground for emerging beauty and wellness products that may eventually reach physical stores.

Behind these initiatives lies a sophisticated data and technology backbone. Ulta is leveraging first-party and zero-party data, enhanced by AI-powered decision-making, to deliver personalized product recommendations, tailored messaging, and localized experiences. For Friedman, AI is not the goal but the enabler—helping Ulta deliver relevance, convenience, and inspiration at scale. By combining human connection with digital innovation, Ulta is positioning itself as a leader in the next era of beauty retail.

Listen more

Interview

Why Retail Leaders at Central Retail and 2degrees Put Employees First — and Saw Results

In retail, there’s a growing realization that the customer experience can only be as strong as the employee experience behind it.

In retail, there’s a growing realization that the customer experience can only be as strong as the employee experience behind it.

Interview

In retail, there’s a growing realization that the customer experience can only be as strong as the employee experience behind it.

Why Retail Leaders at Central Retail and 2degrees Put Employees First — and Saw Results

In retail, there’s a growing realization that the customer experience can only be as strong as the employee experience behind it.

Interview

Scaling Connection: Inside Mecca’s Emotion-Driven Retail Model

In an era where AI is reshaping the way we work and shop, Mecca Brands is proving that emotional intelligence may be the most powerful differentiator in modern retail

In an era where AI is reshaping the way we work and shop, Mecca Brands is proving that emotional intelligence may be the most powerful differentiator in modern retail

Interview

In an era where AI is reshaping the way we work and shop, Mecca Brands is proving that emotional intelligence may be the most powerful differentiator in modern retail

Scaling Connection: Inside Mecca’s Emotion-Driven Retail Model

In an era where AI is reshaping the way we work and shop, Mecca Brands is proving that emotional intelligence may be the most powerful differentiator in modern retail

Interview

How DingDong Fresh Is Reinventing Grocery Retail with AI at the Core

With over 1,000 AI-powered “dark stores” operating as micro-fulfillment centers, the company delivers fresh produce, meat, seafood, and ready-to-eat meals to consumers’ doors in under 30 minutes, at scale.

With over 1,000 AI-powered “dark stores” operating as micro-fulfillment centers, the company delivers fresh produce, meat, seafood, and ready-to-eat meals to consumers’ doors in under 30 minutes, at scale.

Interview

With over 1,000 AI-powered “dark stores” operating as micro-fulfillment centers, the company delivers fresh produce, meat, seafood, and ready-to-eat meals to consumers’ doors in under 30 minutes, at scale.

How DingDong Fresh Is Reinventing Grocery Retail with AI at the Core

With over 1,000 AI-powered “dark stores” operating as micro-fulfillment centers, the company delivers fresh produce, meat, seafood, and ready-to-eat meals to consumers’ doors in under 30 minutes, at scale.

Interview

India’s Digital Fashion Revolution Is Just Getting Started

With over 300 million Gen Z consumers and more than 2 million creators, India’s fashion market is buzzing with potential.

With over 300 million Gen Z consumers and more than 2 million creators, India’s fashion market is buzzing with potential.

Interview

With over 300 million Gen Z consumers and more than 2 million creators, India’s fashion market is buzzing with potential.

India’s Digital Fashion Revolution Is Just Getting Started

With over 300 million Gen Z consumers and more than 2 million creators, India’s fashion market is buzzing with potential.

Interview

Korea: How Lotte Group Rethinking Retail in the World’s Most Digitized Market

At the center of Lotte’s reinvention is a singular, unifying vision: to become the customer’s number one shopping destination, no matter the format or channel.

At the center of Lotte’s reinvention is a singular, unifying vision: to become the customer’s number one shopping destination, no matter the format or channel.

Interview

At the center of Lotte’s reinvention is a singular, unifying vision: to become the customer’s number one shopping destination, no matter the format or channel.

Korea: How Lotte Group Rethinking Retail in the World’s Most Digitized Market

At the center of Lotte’s reinvention is a singular, unifying vision: to become the customer’s number one shopping destination, no matter the format or channel.

Receive new exclusive episodes


Sign up for our newsletter now!

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.