Ulta Beauty at Target Closes After August 15
Ulta Beauty and Target are concluding their shop-in-shop partnership nearly five years after the concept launched.
The retailers previously announced that they had mutually agreed not to renew their agreement when it expired in August 2026. Ulta has now confirmed that its Target locations and Target.com shopping experience will no longer be available after August 15.
Until then, customers can continue shopping the Ulta Beauty at Target assortment and earning Ulta Beauty Rewards points on qualifying purchases. After the cutoff, shoppers will need to use Ulta stores, Ulta.com, or the Ulta Beauty app to continue earning rewards directly through Ulta.
The partnership launched in 2021 with curated prestige beauty assortments inside Target stores and online. It eventually reached approximately 600 Target locations, giving Ulta brands access to shoppers who might not regularly visit a specialty beauty retailer.
Target Is Rebuilding the Experience Under Its Own Banner
Target is not stepping away from prestige beauty. Instead, it is preparing to launch Target Beauty Studio in more than 600 stores and online this fall.
The new concept will combine elevated presentation, expanded prestige products, trained beauty staff, and integration with Target.com, the Target app, and Target Circle. Target has positioned the format as a more immersive beauty destination built around its own retail ecosystem.
That means the end of Ulta’s shop-in-shop does not automatically mean the end of prestige beauty distribution at Target. Some brands may remain available through direct Target relationships, while others could lose Target placement or return to Ulta-exclusive distribution.
Brands currently carried through the partnership should confirm their status rather than assuming the existing assortment, shelf position, online content, reviews, promotions, or inventory arrangements will transfer into Target Beauty Studio.
The Brand Lesson: Retail Reach Is Not Customer Ownership
The transition separates two customer journeys that had been linked through one shopping experience.
Brands benefited from Target’s reach while participating customers earned Ulta rewards. After August 15, those loyalty signals, merchandising systems, and promotional environments will operate independently.
Beauty brands should review where customers are most likely to look for affected products next. That includes Ulta, Target Beauty Studio, direct-to-consumer websites, Amazon, Walmart, and other authorized beauty retailers.
On Amazon, brands should prepare for potential changes in branded search activity and competitive traffic. Listings should accurately reflect the authorized assortment, while inventory, pricing, SEO, advertising, and reseller activity should be monitored as shoppers adjust their buying habits.
The goal is not to replace one retailer with another. It is to ensure customers can still find an accurate, in-stock, and brand-consistent offer wherever demand moves.
beBOLD Digital’s Take
The Ulta–Target split is a reminder that retail partnerships can expand reach without giving brands permanent control over distribution or customer relationships.
Beauty brands should use the transition to audit their channel mix, confirm retail plans, and strengthen the marketplaces where they directly control content, advertising, inventory, and performance data.
For help building a coordinated marketplace strategy around these changes, explore beBOLD Digital’s Amazon Premium Beauty Agency services and contact our team for a consultation.
Ulta Beauty, “Ulta Beauty and Target Announce Plans to Conclude Partnership in 2026”
Target, “Introducing Target Beauty Studio: A New Way to Discover and Shop Prestige Beauty Brands”
AP News, “Target and Ulta Mutually Agree Not to Renew Partnership Launched in 2021”
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