The Ulta Beauty at Target Thread

[greeneyedgirl107]

Ulta Beauty at Target has arrived.  This is an area for us to post our thoughts, our questions, our hauls...anything and everything.

[greeneyedgirl107]

I'm intrigued by this Ulta at Target initiative b/c I wonder what it means for retail in the future.  For example, I've noticed that Target has elevated itself over the years.  On the one hand I really like being able to shop for clothes there, and the expanded fresh food choices.  On the other, I've seen some pretty ridiculous prices - like $200 for an accent chair.  With department stores failing, I feel like Target will just grow and grow.  I enjoy Target, but I wonder if we'll see less and less bargains.  Target is a nice destination for drugstore makeup, and I'm more seduced by those lines when I'm at Target than at Ulta or CVS (or the like).  But I'm concerned that offering prestige brands skews things to higher prices.  For example, I remember in the 90s when A&F was a big deal - then it wasn't enough to just have a pricey, mainstream brand -- people were wanting Chanel.  

I'm also wondering what Target will cut in its stores to make room for Ulta at Target, b/c there's only so much floor space.  Will we see less drugstore brands of beauty?  Or will Target decrease it's selection of menswear or DVDs or pet products, or what?

I also ponder what this means for sales, coupons and GWP.  One of the reasons I like shopping at Ulta is for all of the perks I get.  Sure, different people like different perks.  But as Ulta expands will we see less 20% off coupons, or less GWP?  IDK what kind of deal Ulta and Target have, but I question if we'll see more changes at Ulta in general as they grow.

With so many brick and mortar stores closing, I almost get kind of sad when I see partnerships like Ulta at Target.  I personally feel it's like one stop shopping (which is great in a lot of circumstances) but I'm concerned that it will further the decline of malls (b/c I love malls!).

And what of testers?  I remember there was chatter a while back when word first started spreading about Ulta at Target, and how there would be testers.  I was really excited about that.  Now with the pandemic, I don't think we'll see that happening.  Of course I understand why, but I'm concerned that Target will just shelve the idea of testers for years.

[WinglessOne]

@greeneyedgirl107  I've been a member of Ulta's rewards program since 2002, and an Ulta shopper since the 90s when they were still called Ulta3. Having watched this retailer rebrand itself a couple times (eh, 2.5 - 3 times if I include their recent expansion of "high end" brands), I'm not worried about negative impacts to Ulta or their customers. I doubt they'll drastically slow down their sales, coupons, or GWP. I think they realize the GWP bags encourage folks to pay at least the buy-in minimum. And since I'm still stuck in my latest round of unsubscribed promo email limbo (even though I am actually subscribed), I don't get Ulta coupons anymore anyway. 🤷‍♀️ 

If anything beyond the pandemic is going to hit Ulta's profits at all, it's their backend web glitches. That's what worries me the most about this Ulta at Target launch: can Ulta's system(s) keep pace with Target's? I keep remembering when iPhone users ranted about the Target app requiring face ID to use our in-app wallet to pay at registers—during alpha variant peak pandemic mask mandates—and how quickly Target updated their app to allow passcodes. By comparison, some of us can't even get Ulta to figure out why the heck we keep getting randomly unsubscribed from their promo email list. Excluding both retailers' apps: if I kept a list of all Ulta's web & mail glitches vs. Target's, I think I know who'd have the most. And now I'm supposed to trust Ulta to track and award the correct Ulta points for purchases made at Target? 🙄 I know I'll get my Target RedCard cash back and any Circle discounts, but as for Ulta... vote of no confidence, right here. 

I've also seen Target evolve and grow, as I'm sure many others have. Target's price creep (of their own branded products) doesn't surprise me much. I mean, I've seen price increases happen in various stores over the years. It's more noticeable now because the pandemic has forced some price creep in certain industries. But prices have been gradually rising for a long time. I honestly haven't noticed much price increase of beauty products at Target that I haven't seen mirrored at other retailers. In fact, Target's still one of the lowest priced retailers for me, even if I ignore my Circle deals + RedCard discount. 

I do agree that Target-brand furniture's overpriced. But hasn't it always been? I remember looking for a nightstand years ago, thinking I could save myself a suburban Ikea trip. I wound up ordering from Ikea instead. Like seriously, Target? You're not Crate and Barrel. (Though don't get me started on C&B's prices!) I almost asked a Target employee if I could break apart a nightstand, buy it in pieces at a discount, and just reassemble it at home. 🤣 Anyway... 

Since Ulta won't be at all Target locations, I don't expect Target to drop lots of brands or products to free up floor space. I think there's only one or two Chicago Targets on the Ulta list, yet there are several Target locations within city limits. (Several Ultas, too.) I'd love to hear from someone whose local Target is on the list, though. That'd be interesting to hear. One of my local smaller Targets very recently did a total reconfiguration to expand its beauty section and add a separate package pickup area. They removed their in-store Starbucks, which isn't a big loss since there's a big standalone Sbux right up the street. They also removed all the self-checkout stations at one end of the store, leaving self-checkout at the other end of the store which I guess is now the only entrance/exit. So, those are some ways Ulta Targets can reconfig to make room. 

I hear you on the sad decline of standalone stores. I'm not a big fan of malls, but I do (well, did in The Before Times) visit 3 here in Chicago. Two of them are on Michigan Ave. One of those is Water Tower Place, which I hear is hurting now. I haven't been in there since early 2020, but I know Macy's moved out—and they were a flagship store. (Macy's... there's another sad story that's been in the making for years. I'm surprised they're still afloat.) The other mall is the one anchored by Nordstrom, and I always forget the mall's name. I just call it The Nordy Mall. I do still walk through the first floor to reach Nordy for order pickup sometimes, and it's sad to see empty storefronts in there. I wonder if retailer partnerships could save a few stores. I have no idea how much money that kind of partnership takes to set up, and I'm sure there's a lot of contractual and bureaucratic headache involved. But I can see some stores partnering up to become one-stop shops to lure customers, and to me that's not a bad thing. This could even happen inside malls, which themselves are kinda like one-stop shops on a bigger scale... one big store, with different product offerings in different rooms. 🙂 

EDIT: WOW, this is a lot longer than I thought it'd be! 

[Loretta55]

I was unhappy that CVS and Target collaborated @greeneyedgirl107 . I have noticed that the price on the Target brand items have risen. I don’t shop for clothes at Target because they do not carry a selection of petite sizes. Also the eye drops that I normally purchase are no longer available at Target.

I am not sure how I feel about the collaboration between Ulta and Target because they both carry drugstore cosmetics. Once again I am scared that this collaboration will cause a price increase. Target’s threshold for free shipping is $35.00 so I am not sure how I really feel about it. Also no stores locally to me will have an Ulta inside Target unlike Sephora at Kohl’s.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@Loretta55 Thanks for weighing in - now I don't feel so alone with my concerns.  I shop at Target frequently, but it also helps that it's on my way home.  I do buy clothes from them - mainly sweaters.  But I totally agree with the frustration about sizes.  I like to buy petite, and you are totally right that the petite segment is missing from Target.  Of course, it's missing from a lot of retailers.  

You have a very valid point about the threshold for free shipping.  When I need something from Target, I find that I have to wait until I have enough things to buy to reach the minimum.  If it goes higher, IDK how often I would even order from them.  And the list is long of items that they no longer carry.  I just went to purchase some fiber gummies and noticed that they don't sell one of the brands I used to buy.  And as for the rising prices - I just noticed that the Target brand oil blotting sheets are $4.99, and I don't remember them being quite that high in the past.