In the midst of its brick-and-mortar makeover, Ulta Beauty has also been treating its digital store to a new look. And no, not by upping its contour game or packing on some blush, but with backend changes and the addition of tools to better connect shoppers to the products they want.

The beauty retailer posted strong results last year, with net sales rising 18.3% to $10.2 billion. Among the year’s achievements CEO Dave Kimbell outlined in its most recent earnings call were improvements in customer experience. In addition to a growing physical footprint, with 47 new store openings last year, he also praised the “phased refresh” of its digital store.

Overseeing this refresh is Jeffrey Hamm, Ulta’s VP of digital experience and operations, who heads teams across product management, user experience, and business operations at the retailer. He’s been with Ulta for over a decade, joining in 2012 as its director of e-commerce when the retailer’s digital business “was quite small,” he told Retail Brew.

• A look at an archive of the site from the month Hamm joined definitely proves things have changed, both in layout and product offerings. A top seller back then? The original Urban Decay Naked Palette, may it rest in peace.

“It’s been a journey to take it from e-commerce to digital, and by that, I mean we’ve not only grown the digital channel, but now we’re really setting ourselves up for how we support digital for the enterprise,” Hamm said.

So what does that mean, exactly? Hamm broke down the consumer-facing and behind-the-scenes changes that make up this refresh.

Keep reading here.—EC

There are enough abandoned shopping carts out there to form their own unreachable island. How much revenue do you lose when people leave their carts astray? Millions. (Eek.)

So, how do you recapture this island of lost carts? Try Retention.com. Through the power of data, Retention.com turns missed opportunities into revenue by converting your anonymous web traffic into real, paying customers.

Retention.com is 100% compliant, enriching only first-party identities of website visitors and guaranteeing clean, reliable data.

Retention marketing is more cost-effective than acquiring new customers, and Retention.com can help your team capitalize on that. Their cutting-edge tech helps DTC e-commerce businesses drive list growth, grow triggered rev, convert new users, and more.

Start getting more carts to the finish line.

When Google autocompletes search queries about retail brands, it offers a glimpse of what most confounds customers. This series looks for answers.

It’s no wonder consumers are searching online for the answer to why Whole Foods doesn’t carry Impossible Foods’s plant-based meat products because neither company seems to be in a hurry to explain.

We sent several emails seeking comment to both Whole Foods and Impossible Foods over several days, but neither responded.

Due processed: Whole Foods’s relationship with plant-based meat is…complicated.

In 2019, John Mackey, the co-founder and then-CEO of Whole Foods, described some meat alternatives as “super highly processed” on CNBC.

“I don’t think eating highly processed foods is healthy,” Mackey said. “I think people thrive on eating whole foods.”

But Mackey also noted in the CNBC interview that it “launched” Beyond Meat, introducing the brand’s plant-based products in Whole Foods in 2013.

And Whole Foods shoppers have plenty of plant-based meat brands to choose from these days, including Beyond Meat, Daring, Abbot’s Butcher, and its private label, 365 by Whole Foods Market.

Narrowing it down: Impossible Foods products, however, are far from impossible to find, with distribution at chains including Walmart, Target, Wegmans, Kroger, and Albertsons.

John Clear, director in the consumer retail group of global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal, told us plant-based meat is “a high-dollar and -margin category, but it’s not a high-velocity category.”

In other words, while plant-based meat can be as expensive as the animal-derived meat, how often consumers buy it “is nothing compared to” how often they buy beef or chicken, Clear said.

Keep reading here.—AAN

The layoff bug continues to bite, and Gap is the latest victim.

Last week, the company announced plans to lay off 1,800 workers in an effort to save $300 million. The cuts will affect workers from Gap’s headquarters, as well as those in “upper field” roles, i.e., leadership positions at regional stores.

Gap tooth: Gap, which also owns and operates Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta, has struggled to boost its gross margin and reach profitability. Like many retailers, the company has dealt with obstacles including inflation, inventory, and air freight costs.

• On top of that, leadership has been in flux. Former CEO Sonia Syngal abruptly left the company last July, and Gap has yet to find a permanent replacement.
• Athleta CEO Mary Beth Laughton left the company last month, and Gap axed its chief growth officer role at the same time, on the day of its Q4 2022 earnings call.

Keep reading here.—KM

Today’s top retail reads.

They’ve been away: It’s been a while, but the travel brand Away is planning to open its first brick-and-mortar location in two years. The new San Jose, California, shop is one of a handful coming down the pipeline for the company. Away had cooled its physical expansion, but things are now different for the company. (Modern Retail)

Tell on yourself: Last year, a “mysterious” website criticizing Oatly’s “conspiracies and scandals”—including a lawsuit filed against a rival UK brand—popped up. In fact, it was made by Oatly. The company says it acknowledges its controversies and wants to be transparent. (Insider)

People over profits: Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya has something to prove—that companies can strike a balance between profits and humanitarianism. His brand has captured 20% of the yogurt market and intends to go public, but he also doesn’t want to fall into the trappings of only chasing dollars. (CNN)

A roundup of our favorite retail multimedia content from across platforms this week—from TikTok to Twitter. We’re keeping you hip, and you’re welcome.

RT: Brand development freelancer Clayton Chambers breaks down Hoka’s rise to footwear fame in a Twitter thread. (@claytonchambers on Twitter)

Double tap: Social strategist (also founder, CEO, and mom) Sydnee Thompson is one of four winners of Nike’s “Your Force 1” Instagram challenge for Dot Swoosh (the brand’s Web3 community project). The digital design she co-created with Nike will be part of Dot Swoosh’s upcoming NFT sale, and she recently visited Nike HQ with her family. (@sneakerfreaksyd on Instagram)

Double tap (Reels edition): Did you manage to get your hands on an item from Coach’s new upcycled brand Coachtopia? We didn’t , but we’re still obsessed with this video clip showing off the amazing things their designers can do with leather scraps. (Coachtopia on Instagram)

Make your day: Did you catch the DTC olive oil drama on LinkedIn? Ashwinn Krishnaswamy breaks it down and digs into “form factor imitation.” (@Shwinnabego on TikTok)

Link up: Recurate co-founder and CEO Adam Siegel is taking to LinkedIn to break down the intricacies of resale. This week’s post is a deep dive into take backs. (Adam Siegel on LinkedIn)

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• How Lovesac sets itself apart in the furniture industry
• Retail’s biggest bets on emerging tech
• Why inventory management is so important for retailers