Ulta Beauty is expanding its use of near-real-time market intelligence as the retailer looks to strengthen visibility into category trends, shopper behaviour and competitive performance across the beauty sector.
The company is leveraging data from market intelligence firm YipitData to support merchandising and assortment decisions, customer loyalty initiatives and broader analytics efforts.
Ulta said the platform provides insight into brand and item-level performance, as well as shifts in consumer demand across the wider beauty market.
“Maintaining a strong understanding of how shoppers engage with the broader beauty landscape is an important part of how we evolve our assortment and support our brand partners,” said Penny Coy, senior vice president of merchandising for skincare and haircare at Ulta Beauty.
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The move forms part of a wider push by the retailer to deepen its data and analytics capabilities. Ulta recently partnered with NielsenIQ to share sales data for inclusion in NIQ’s forthcoming Full View of Beauty channel.
Under that agreement, Ulta will also use NielsenIQ’s Omnishopper and Digital Purchases tools as primary sources for consumer insights and enterprise analytics.
YipitData president James Hart said the partnership would help Ulta gain a more detailed external view of the market, including emerging consumer trends and competitive dynamics.
Founded in 1990, Ulta operates more than 1,500 stores across the U.S.
The retailer is also growing internationally through luxury beauty subsidiary Space NK, a joint venture in Mexico and franchise operations in the Middle East.
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