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ქართული ნაციონალური ბალეტი "სუხიშვილები" 80 წელს აღნიშნავს - მთავარი მხარდამჭერია საქართველოს ბანკი
ქართული ნაციონალური ბალეტი "სუხიშვილები" 80 წელს აღნიშნავს - მთავარი მხარდამჭერია საქართველოს ბანკი

Entrepreneur

time7 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneur

ქართული ნაციონალური ბალეტი "სუხიშვილები" 80 წელს აღნიშნავს - მთავარი მხარდამჭერია საქართველოს ბანკი

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Ulta's 45 million loyalty members will drive its personalization plans
Ulta's 45 million loyalty members will drive its personalization plans

Yahoo

time15 hours ago

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Ulta's 45 million loyalty members will drive its personalization plans

This story was originally published on CX Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CX Dive newsletter. Ulta Beauty plans to better personalize its digital experience as the company prepares to navigate economic uncertainty, executives said on a Q1 2025 earnings call Thursday. The beauty retailer is expanding its automation and real-time content delivery capabilities across key digital channels, according to President and CEO Kecia Steelman. Ulta's loyalty program, which grew its membership 3% year over year to 45 million in the first quarter of 2025, will drive this effort, according to Steelman. 'Again, it's really taking our deep knowledge and understanding of our loyalty member base and elevating that personalization, that connectivity and communicating with them in the ways that they best feel suited,' she said on the call. Ulta Beauty wants to focus on the aspects of the business it can control, including customer experience, as it works to retain and attract customers amid economic uncertainty and increasing competition in the beauty space. 'I would just say beauty and wellness is what we do,' Steelman said. 'And when a lot of other players are trying to come into this space, this is where we are the experts. We have a leading loyalty program. Our omnichannel offering is anchored in that human connection, that in-store and that powerful digital connection — that combo really does set us apart.' Ulta's upcoming omnichannel investments will build on recently launched app features. Split Cart lets customers divide orders between multiple fulfillment methods, while Shop My Store offers users real-time visibility into store assortment and visibility. More than 60% of e-commerce sales are made through the app, according to Steelman. However, the company is exploring ways to enhance the digital experience beyond the app alone. 'We're accelerating our capabilities to deepen guest connection and drive performance,' Steelman said. 'We've expanded automation and real-time content delivery across key digital channels, allowing us to respond faster, personalize at scale and enhance the overall guest experience.' While digital is a focus, stores still account for 80% of Ulta's sales, according to Steelman. The retailer won't leave the in-store experience behind, and it's putting an emphasis on better in-stock rates. Ulta also increased the number of payroll hours in its stores in its latest quarter, according to Steelman. While this was a significant expense for the company, the additional worker hours paid off as the brand recovers from a downturn last year. 'We're just doubling down and making sure that we're giving the very best guest experience that we can in our stores, making sure that we have great marketing campaigns to drive the traffic into the store, and making sure that we have the products for the guests when they're coming in and giving a great guest experience,' Steelman said. Ulta's investments helped it achieve a solid quarter. Comparable sales rose 2.9% year over year in the first quarter of 2025, according to a company earnings report. Net sales rose 4.5% to $2.8 billion. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

15 tips for launching a customer loyalty program
15 tips for launching a customer loyalty program

Fast Company

timea day ago

  • Business
  • Fast Company

15 tips for launching a customer loyalty program

For businesses, loyalty programs are a great way to encourage repeat purchases and strengthen customer relationships. Yet, launching a successful one takes more than offering discounts or points. The best programs are designed with the customer in mind—what they value, how they interact with your brand, and what makes them feel genuinely appreciated. To help, 15 members of Fast Company Executive Board discuss what it takes to build a loyalty program that drives not only sales, but genuine customer engagement. 1. PERSONALIZE REWARDS WITH EMAIL ADDRESS INTELLIGENCE. Points and one-size-fits-all programs don't build loyalty. Customers need to feel seen. This level of personalization requires visibility into who customers are, how they behave, and what they value. Email address intelligence helps this, revealing real, active identities so you can act on what matters to them. Without it, you're guessing who deserves what, or possibly rewarding fraud. – Tom Burke, AtData 2. FOCUS ON EMOTIONAL CONNECTION, NOT JUST TRANSACTIONS. Make your brand unforgettable in your customer's life. Don't just focus on driving transactions—build emotional connections. Celebrate unexpected milestones that your customers didn't even know they were working towards. Create personal, meaningful experiences, and reward loyalty in ways that show you truly know them. – Andrew Graff, A&G (Allen & Gerritsen) 3. CONSIDER THE CUSTOMER'S SIDE OF THE INTERACTION. Think about how it feels for your customer. Will they find the rewards you offer and the commitment you ask of them to be a good value exchange? Too many loyalty programs make perfect sense for the vendor and ask too much of the customer. This means that in the end, it won't work out for you either. – Arar Han, Sabot Family Companies 4. USE TAILORED REWARDS AND GAMIFICATION TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION. To build a loyalty program that drives real engagement, go beyond generic rewards. Align incentives with what your customers truly value. In logistics, we offer shower credits—more meaningful than cash. Tailored rewards create stronger loyalty. Add gamification elements to boost participation and make the program more interactive and sticky. – Mohan Kumar, AtoB 5. TURN ORDINARY INTERACTIONS INTO MOMENTS OF AFFIRMATION. A great loyalty program isn't about points. It's about emotion. The most successful loyalty programs recognize and reward you in a way that serves an emotional need for people. They turn ordinary shopping interactions into moments of affirmation, making customers feel seen, understood, and valued. Design a loyalty program like that, and your most valuable customers will love your brand forever. – Barry Fiske, Merkle 6. RESEARCH CUSTOMER PREFERENCES TO ENSURE REWARDS ARE MEANINGFUL. Make sure the rewards are meaningful to your target audience. A loyalty program only works if it aligns with what your customers truly value. Conduct research beforehand to understand their preferences—whether it's discounts, exclusive access, or early product drops—and keep the program simple and easy to use. – Maria Alonso, Fortune 206 7. REWARD BRAND ENGAGEMENT TO MAKE LOYALTY A HABIT. Design your loyalty program like a two-way relationship, not a one-time transaction. The best programs reward spending and engagement, such as referrals, feedback, or education. When customers feel seen and valued beyond their wallet, loyalty becomes a habit rather than an obligation. – Albert Lie, Forward Labs 8. OFFER A RANGE OF REWARDS TO INCREASE VALUE. Offer a mix of rewards—for example, discounts, free products, exclusive access, and early-bird specials—to cater to different preferences. To enhance the customer experience and make them feel valued, give out special rewards like members-only events or sneak peeks of new products. Consider cross-promotions with complementary businesses to increase the value of the rewards program. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal Credit Union 9. KEEP IT SIMPLE, RELEVANT, AND RESONANT. When launching a loyalty program, focus on delivering real value. Align rewards with what your customers truly want, personalize incentives based on behaviors, and make enrollment effortless. Simplicity, relevance, and emotional connection are key to building long-term loyalty and engagement. – Scott Keever, Keever SEO 10. AVOID TRAPS AND OVERCOMPLICATED PROGRAMS. First, avoid setting traps—for example, other than points, requiring additional fees to redeem rewards. Second, ensure high quality of the rewards. Do not use unsellable or expired products as rewards. Third, don't overuse the program to excessively promote other products. Finally, don't make the program too complex for customers to understand the direct benefits of their actions. – Chongwei Chen, DataNumen Inc. 11. MAKE THE PROGRAM A NATURAL EXTENSION OF YOUR BRAND. Focus on alignment over generic offers. Ensure the rewards reflect what your customers genuinely value—exclusive access, unique experiences, or curated product perks. A well-designed program should feel like a natural extension of your brand, not just a discount engine. – Kristin Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC 12. DON'T TRY TO BUY LOYALTY. Earn loyalty. Don't buy it. Transactional loyalty is transparently obvious. The reward-based exchanges you broker will either build relationships or break them down. Understand that your intentions are more apparent than you think. – Jay Steven Levin, WinThinking 13. TIE BENEFITS TO BEHAVIORS THAT ALIGN WITH BUSINESS GOALS. When launching a loyalty program, focus on creating real value for the customer. Make it simple to join, easy to understand, and genuinely rewarding. Tie benefits to behaviors that align with your business goals and ensure it feels personalized—loyalty is earned through relevance, not gimmicks. – Stephen Nalley, Black Briar Advisors 14. FOCUS ON WHAT YOUR CUSTOMER IS TRYING TO ACHIEVE. Make it truly valuable. Don't just gamify, personalize it. At LambdaTest, we were focused on what the customer was trying to achieve and aligned our rewards to speed that outcome up. It has to feel like a thank-you gift, not a marketing tool. – Asad Khan, LambdaTest Inc. 15. REMEMBER TO 'TEND' YOUR PROGRAM CONTINUOUSLY. Loyalty programs are designed to retain revenue and work on growing the share of spend; they are not acquisition tools. A program is not a project, it is a product. It lives and breathes and must adapt and grow. It needs an owner, a gardener. You don't build it and forget it. Finally, it is not a marketing function; it's an enterprise function with a leader who has a seat at the strategy table. – Maury Giles, Material

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