Ulta Beauty kicked off 2026 as so many do in the new year: doubling down on wellness.
The specialty beauty retailer, which is the largest in the U.S., in January unveiled its new Wellness by Ulta shops-in-shop, giving the category an expanded assortment, new educational resources and more dedicated retail space across select stores. The aim? To keep Ulta at the cutting edge of not just beauty, but personal well-being writ large as category lines continue to intersect.
It’s a goal that the Bolingbrook, Ill.-based retailer has remained steadfast in, if its year-to-date performance is any indication.
For its second quarter ending Aug. 1, Ulta topped Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom lines, reporting that net sales increased 8.9 percent to $3 billion, driven largely by increased comparable sales, the retailer’s 2025 acquisition of Space NK, and sales from new stores.
For full-year 2026, Ulta forecasts net sales growth to be between 6.7 percent and 7.2 percent.
This momentum comes after a challenged 2024, which saw Ulta lose market share for the first time as competition in beauty retail intensified. The company began its steady recovery in 2025 as chief executive officer Kecia Steelman took the helm and kicked off its Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy, and today, the fruits of that labor are in full swing.
“It’s not just a strategy, it’s a way of being and you can feel it through the entire organization,” said Steelman in an NRF Big Show keynote in January. “There’s three core areas we’re focused on: Driving our core business [and] making sure that what we’re really doing is driving the U.S. business forward. The second is focusing on new businesses and margin-creating businesses, and the third is realigning our foundation for growth.”
The company, which is the recipient of the 2026 WWD Honor for Public Beauty Company of the Year, is walking the walk.
This year, Ulta has simultaneously launched new bets — in March it became the first American specialty beauty retailer to launch a storefront on TikTok Shop — and doubled down on its core strengths, namely catering to value-oriented shoppers across its 1,500-plus U.S. stores and growing its international store footprint.
“We’re all facing uncertain times — uncertainty is here to stay — and so consumers are starting to get more and more comfortable with this unpredictable microenvironment that we’re living in, and value is something customers are leaning into,” said Kelly Mahoney, Ulta’s chief marketing officer, at the 2026 WWD x FN x Beauty Inc Women in Power Summit.
This focus on creating value manifests in different ways at Ulta.
Last fall the retailer expanded its e-commerce assortment with the launch of UB Marketplace, which features additional — in some cases emerging — brands and products and is something of a “testing ground” for Ulta, as vice president of hair care merchandising Shianna Davey put it.
Ulta has also been a quick mover when it comes to K-beauty, adding buzzy skin care players like Medicube, Dr. Melaxin and Anua to its assortment, and even hedging early bets on the more nascent Korean hair care and Korean wellness categories, adding 13 K-hair care brands to its assortment this spring and launching Clöud Café, a Korean-inspired collagen matcha and coffee brand, in stores.
Other key moves the retailer has made include inking a deal with Bath & Body Works in July to launch that retailer’s products online and in more than 600 Ulta stores; unveiling plans to open a Times Square flagship in New York in 2027; steadily opening additional stores in Mexico and the Middle East, both markets where the retailer first debuted in 2025, and in October introducing an Ulta Beauty ChatGPT plugin to deliver personalized product recommendations to shoppers.
“We’re executing with focus — delivering innovation that earns its place; value that feels meaningful, and experiences that keep beauty joyful and accessible,” Steelman told WWD at the 2026 NRF Big Show. “In moments of uncertainty, clarity and consistency matter, and our strategy is designed to meet guests where they are while continuing to move the business forward.”
The retailer is also keeping close to culture, hosting the second iteration of its Ulta Beauty World festival in Orlando, Fla., in April, which featured activations from more than 200 brands; masterclasses from JVN founder Jonathan Van Ness and “Euphoria” makeup artist Donni Davy, and a viral goodie bag valued at more than $2,000.
Ulta also launched an Athlete Roster featuring six professional women athletes, including pickleball world champion Anna Leigh Waters and Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby in February, and this summer hosting a The Beat Suite glam station at Lollapalooza.
“We are executing with discipline and translating our Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy into tangible benefits for our guests,” said Steelman during the company’s most recent earnings release. “[We are] leveraging our unique understanding of our guests to drive excitement and growth through compelling innovation, value, experiences and convenience.”