About

Through Prisma Ventures, Ulta Beauty nurtures the future of beauty tech by partnering with early-stage startups in the beauty, commerce, and retail space. Hang’s interactive, gamified loyalty experiences made them a perfect fit for the program.

Beauty is inherently rooted in discovery, self-expression, and experimentation. As the nation’s largest beauty retailer, Ulta Beauty is committed to bringing joy to all beauty lovers through enriching and engaging experiences.   

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Challenge

Ulta Beauty set out to explore gamification through loyalty  

Ulta Beauty is committed to discovering innovative ways to provide fun and engaging beauty experiences. As a creative industry leader with a decade’s experience in beauty tech, the brand is well-positioned to bring this fresh, experimental ethos to its rewards and loyalty programs. 

Research has shown that gamification can positively impact consumer behavior by engaging shoppers, especially Gen Z and Millennials, in fun and interactive experiences. To see how gamification would resonate with their audience, Ulta Beauty decided to test-drive a new loyalty experience through Prisma Ventures. 

The pilot would offer customized, digitally immersive experiences to a small group of Ulta Beauty Rewards™ members. Without interrupting their industry-leading loyalty program, Ulta Beauty Rewards™, the one-off initiative would create a unique opportunity to engage some of their most loyal and engaged members.

“At Ulta Beauty, we’re investing in technology to create future-forward digital guest experiences. To build those capabilities, we partner with highly innovative companies like Hang.” 

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Solution

Ulta Beauty partnered with Hang to develop a personalized, gamified loyalty pilot experience

When it came to a company to partner with, Hang was a natural choice. With proven expertise in the gamification and loyalty space, their tech was exactly what Ulta Beauty was looking for. Within the pilot experience, they would quickly test and iterate games and digital experiences, and easily integrate their existing coupons and gift cards as rewards.

Once the partnership kicked off, Hang worked closely with Ulta Beauty’s Digital Innovation and Loyalty Teams. Together, they developed GlamXplorer: an invite-only experience powered by Hang’s personalized, omni-channel loyalty technology. 

Guests completed mini-games, timed challenges, and quests. These took place online and offline, including virtual try-ons with Ulta Beauty’s GLAMlab^®, beauty-themed games, digital experiences, and in-store visits. Then, members earned rewards like limited-time offers, gift cards, products and discounts. 

Not only did GlamXplorer engage beauty lovers, but as they interacted with the quests and rewards, Ulta Beauty gained valuable knowledge of their preferences and interests. For example, GlamXplorer revealed that quizzes and mini-games resonate particularly well with guests. 

“To create a ‘test-and-learn’ environment, we needed to lean on a company with experience in the gamification space. Hang worked with us in a collaborative way, discovering uncharted territories together at a fast-moving pace.”

Results

GlamXplorer created thousands of power users and generated massive interest from Ulta Beauty’s pilot audience

GlamXplorer was an immediate success with Ulta Beauty’s trial group of beauty enthusiasts, who loved how the quests and rewards made beauty feel exciting and inclusive. There’s currently a fully-booked program waitlist, and many became highly engaged power users, completing multiple quests.

• 30+ quests and 40+ mini-games launched
• 90%+ of reward mystery boxes claimed
•  60-80% of participants return weekly 

Ulta Beauty's insights from GlamXplorer will inform future loyalty program initiatives. Looking forward, the beauty leader plans to use this knowledge to continue finding new, exciting ways to engage with its guests. 

“In this journey, we’re uncovering ways to provide exciting, fun, and intuitive experiences through gamification. Hang is a flexible platform for us to develop, test, and learn together with our guests.” 

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