Monica Arnaudo, chief merchandising officer at Ulta Beauty, has been busy: Being tasked with the not-so-simple responsibility of getting consumers their beauty products—without letting them enter the physical stores—in this time of uncertainty.
“We’re pleased to offer our curbside pickup service so guests can get their beauty essentials conveniently with limited contact to ensure the safety of both them and our associates,” she exclusively told us, adding that the service is an extension of Ulta’s already-popular “Buy Online, Pick Up in Store” offering, with a twist.
How it works: Similar to standard online shopping, consumers shop for favorites at the site, then choose the “Pick-Up” option at checkout to find if their nearest store is offering the service—no shipping delays involved.
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“After purchase, guests will receive an email confirmation with instructions for pickup, including the store’s phone number. Once they arrive, they call with their name, order number and a description of their car; an associate will promptly bring out their items and place into the car’s trunk or backseat,” Arnaudo explains.
“From there, guests enjoy their beauty hauls!”
The service is currently available at more than 350 Ulta Beauty locations across the country, and the brand plans to expand in other locations in the coming weeks.
In addition, Arnaudo says the ecommerce teams have been incredibly busy throughout this time, and have been seeing some specific trends taking place.
Not so surprising: a big focus on the self-care category. “There’s been strong interest in areas where our guests were already engaged such as skin care, bath and hair care. On the other end of the spectrum, many people crave regular routines from the comfort of home and they’re finding more time for treatments, like masking and exfoliation,” she says. “Categories that have been especially popular over the last several weeks include self-care items from skin care and bath, as well as ‘do-it-yourself’ products such as at-home hair color and nail care.”
“We see these categories continuing to trend, along with candles and home fragrance, and masking within both hair care and skin care.”
