Ulta Beauty
Their Story
Ulta Beauty is the largest beauty retailer in the United States and a premier destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skincare, haircare, and salon services. Known for blending in-store experiences with digital innovation, Ulta continuously explores new ways to excite and engage its guests.
The Challenge
Ulta Beauty is constantly looking for ways to delight consumers both in-store and online. To stay ahead of evolving shopping behavior, they sought to push the boundaries of digital engagement through augmented reality.
They wanted to create AR experiences that would:
- Allow consumers to deeply engage with products virtually
- Enable a seamless transition from experimentation to purchase
- Accurately measure performance and financial impact
All while ensuring the solution was personalized, efficient, and scalable.
The Insights
Emerging AR tools offered a unique opportunity to remove friction between discovery and purchase, but traditional development processes made scaling AR experiences difficult.
Additionally:
- Consumers were already exploring products within Snapchat, creating a natural environment for immersive shopping
- Simplifying AR creation and connecting it directly to product catalogs would unlock both efficiency and scale
- Performance could be significantly improved by aligning AR engagement with conversion-focused optimization
The Strategy
Rise recommended a holistic, always-on AR shopping strategy built on Snapchat.
By leveraging emerging AR ad technology, the strategy focused on driving product engagement and sales directly within social environments—meeting consumers where they already spend their time.
The Solution
Rise implemented a scalable AR commerce ecosystem within Snapchat:
Streamlined AR Creation
- Leveraged Snapchat’s Lens Web Builder to quickly create AR Lenses for multiple mascara SKUs without requiring 3D expertise
- Reduced production time and effort, enabling rapid deployment
Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses
- Implemented Shopping Lenses to connect AR experiences directly to Ulta’s product catalog
- Enabled users to explore products and move seamlessly to purchase within a single Lens experience
Performance-Driven Campaign Optimization
- Utilized Pixel Purchase goal-based bidding to optimize delivery toward high-intent users
- Focused on driving measurable revenue outcomes
Expanded Reach Through Supporting Formats
- Complemented AR strategy with video Snap Ads and Collection Ads
- Increased reach and reinforced engagement across the platform
The Results
Ulta Beauty successfully introduced a scalable, always-on AR shopping experience that deepened product engagement and streamlined the path to purchase. By combining immersive technology with performance-driven optimization, the brand created an efficient and measurable approach to AR-driven commerce—positioning Snapchat as a key channel for continued innovation and growth.
