Ulta Beauty’s revamp of 21 Days of Beauty has stirred lots of commotion amongst the beauty community recently. If you didn’t know, the sale consists of new releases each day, most products earning a 50% off price tag. Every sale only lasts one day, and customers usually know what the sale consists of before they’re even released. This time around though, Ulta decided to withhold the information due to their competitor, Sephora, always price-matching their products on the same day. Personally, I think this was a strange move on Ulta’s part since Sephora ended up price-matching the same products anyway. Many agree with this opinion that Ulta’s formerly beloved 21 Days of Beauty just didn’t have the same impact as their new Semi-Annual Beauty Savings Event. Many have stated that the previous sale created excitement and allowed for them to plan out what they wanted to buy accordingly. Since they do not know what items are going to be on sale until the week of, many have lost interest since they don’t want to have to keep checking in continuously.
As someone who loves a good sale, I have to admit that something about the Semi-Annual Beauty Savings Event wasn’t a hit for me either. Although the sales consisted of some products that I genuinely enjoy, such as the Fenty contour stick and Nars pot concealer, I didn’t end up buying either. The sale felt less impactful in some ways, and less excitement was drawn overall. Although there were exciting new products, I already owned lots of things that went on sale. Sure, it would’ve been a good time to restock on some favorites, but with so many product releases, do people really gravitate towards the same things over and over again?
So, that leads me to wonder if Ulta will continue this strategy, or will they realize that their sales draw in enough customers to counteract Sephora? It’s worth mentioning that I do work at Ulta, and I noticed how no one was really looking at the Beauty Steals, even on days when the products were highly sought after. One sale in particular was sold out quickly though, which was the Billie Eilish perfume. I think this was one of Ulta’s most strategic moves since Sephora doesn’t carry the fragrance. I think from now on, if Ulta wants the upper hand, they should continue offering sales that their competitors won’t be able to beat.
Furthermore, I think what I am more curious about is the entire discourse between Ulta and Sephora. Sales aside, Ulta has done a great job recently of acquiring new brands in order to take customers away from Sephora. Not to mention Ulta’s significantly better reward system, which many customers have continuously boasted about. And yet, Sephora still remains a tough competitor. I think one of Ulta’s main issues is that they are keeping brands that aren’t making enough profit, while Sephora continuously pushes out new and exciting brands that get people talking. And with these sales, although they have the competitive advantage with a stronger reward system, many people will continue to go to Sephora since Ulta doesn’t carry the same brands, which negates the original intention of having a sale in the first place. In the end though, both stores have their rightful place, and this was just one of many examples of a company’s trials and errors.