What My Ulta Shopping Spiral Taught Me About eCommerce Experience

I’ve been borderline obsessed with color analysis lately. Like many people, I’ve spent months trying to understand why some shades make me look alive and radiant… while others make me look like I need a nap. I’ve talked about this with basically everyone, and after a year of casually circling the topic, I finally decided it was time to go deeper.

What I didn’t expect was that this very personal color journey would turn into a crash course in digital retail experiences, specifically Ulta’s, and how even highly motivated shoppers can get stuck when the buying journey gets bumpy.

But first, what I bought:

Lancôme	Lip Idôle Squalane-12 Butterglow Hydrating Lip Balm	Color: 66 Mahogany Mauve	$22.40
DIBS	BeautyDesert Island Duo Blush + Bronzer Stick	Shade 4 - Not So Basic / Iced Chai	$28.80
MAC	M·A·Cximal Silky Matte Lipstick	Marrakesh	$25.00
florence by mills	Eye Candy Eyeshadow Stick	Color: Toffee	$9.80
Lancôme	Lip Idôle Squalane-12 Butterglow Hydrating Lip Balm	Color: 53 The Tea Is Hot	$22.4
Tarte	Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara	Color: Brown	Qty1$19.60

The Color Analysis Rabbit Hole

For context, here’s what kept confusing me:

• I have a pink sweater that somehow looks amazing on me.

• I also have a deeper blue sweater that, against all logic, looks equally amazing.

• My natural coloring? Dark hair, neutral-to-warm undertones, green-ish eyes. I always look best with gold-ish hair color, even though my natural shade is brown.

Nothing added up. So, naturally, I kept diving deeper into the algorithm-fueled color-analysis rabbit hole until I landed on a service called Gem Lighting.

They typed me as Deep Autumn, a palette of rich plums, olive greens, warm teals, forest greens, mustard-golds, and earthy tones. My sister, interestingly, tested as Deep Winter, which tracks with some of the colors I thought worked on me (like that pink and blue I love).

But then I looked into Deep Autumn makeup recommendations and saw:

• Avoid pink blush. (I owned only pink blush.)

• Avoid black eyeliner. (90% of my makeup bag: black eyeliner.)

• Lean into terracotta, warm browns, deep greens.

So clearly… it was time for a makeup refresh.

Why Ulta. And Why It Fell Apart

I chose Ulta because I wasn’t loyal to any specific brand, I just needed the right shades. And frankly, I didn’t want to place seven different orders from seven different stores. Ulta seemed like the obvious one-stop solution.

But once I started shopping, things unraveled quickly.

1. A Jumpy Mobile Site

Ulta is, at its core, a retail-first company. And their online experience still reflects that.

On mobile, pages were jumpy, jittery, and constantly shifting as elements loaded. Almost every time I visited a product page or results list, the whole layout shifted mid-scroll.

When you’re trying to compare shades, especially for something as nuanced as undertones, this isn’t just annoying. It’s destructive to the buying flow.

2. No Cohesive Cyber Sale Strategy

Because it was Cyber Week, I expected… something. A unified sale. A theme. A clear value story.

Instead, it felt like every brand had:

• Its own discount

• Its own thresholds

• Its own exclusions

• Its own random free gift

None of this matched my shopping intent, which was completely color-based, not brand-based.

From an eCommerce perspective, this was fascinating:

Ulta’s promo strategy was pushing shoppers toward behavior I simply wasn’t there to do.

3. Free Gifts That Didn't Convert

There were a few gift-with-purchase offers that almost got me, but I wasn’t loyal to those brands. I wasn’t about to add an extra product just to get a pouch or mini mascara from a company I barely knew.

This is such a classic promo gap:

The incentive didn’t align with the shopper’s motivation.

4. The Value Gap: “Save Up to 50%… But Not Really”

This felt so familiar, many brands do this:

• “25% off sitewide!” banners

• “Up to 50% off select styles” disclaimers

• Confusing discount distribution

There’s always a disconnect between what the shopper expects (“Great, everything is discounted!”) and what’s actually happening (“Oh, only these few items qualify.”)

Ulta unintentionally put that mismatch front and center.

What This Taught Me as Both a Shopper and an eCommerce Operator

This little detour taught me a few big lessons:

1. Consolidated purchase intent needs consolidated UX.

Shoppers like me, guided by a specific need rather than brand loyalty, fall through the cracks when the experience steers everything toward brand-based behavior.

2. Mobile performance deeply impacts conversion.

A jumpy mobile site isn’t just irritating; it actively breaks the decision-making flow.

3. Promotions must match the shopper’s reason for being there.

Gift-with-purchase works beautifully for brand loyalists. But for category-first shoppers? What they need is clarity, cohesion, and simplicity.

4. The “up to X% off” approach often creates more friction than lift.

Straightforward, easy-to-understand promotions almost always win over patchwork discounting.

Why Beauty Shoppers Need Clarity, Not Chaos

Ulta should have been the perfect place for a shade overhaul, wide assortment, accessible pricing, beloved brands. But instead, the experience made the journey harder.

And if a highly motivated shopper (hi, me!) who is already emotionally invested in figuring out her undertones still can’t complete a purchase easily… imagine how the average shopper feels.

The opportunity here is obvious:

Shoppers aren’t just looking for products. They’re looking for clarity, support, and a frictionless path to the right choice.