Ulta Beauty reported a 70.9% increase in ecommerce growth during its first quarter.
“This was the highest quarterly growth rate for our ecommerce business since the first quarter of 2014, back when the base was only $17 million,” said Mary Dillon, CEO of Ulta Beauty in an earnings call.
Dillon said as the company studies its guest purchase behavior, its ecommerce business has proven to be largely incremental. Ulta rewards members who shop online are also increasing their purchases in the store vs. shifting them online, she said.
“We continue to improve our site experience and fulfillment capabilities,” said Dillon. “Ulta.com drove very strong growth during 21 Days of Beauty and other events including the limited time offers we called Beauty Bets and Beauty Break and special offers for platinum loyalty members.”
Dillon said the events serve as a catalyst for a retail guest to become an omnichannel shopper.
“The number of omnichannel loyalty members continue to increase and now represent 8.6% of our members,” said Dillon. “We continue to add online-only brands and expand the assortments of brands we carry in stores.”
During the quarter, total online traffic growth was up 77% and mobile traffic rose 107%. This was driven by growth in paid search, affiliate, display and social media marketing, company officials said.
Ulta Beauty expects its ecommerce sales to grow about 50% in the second quarter.