Just in time for the holidays, Ulta Beauty is scratching the consumer itch for instant gratification by announcing a partnership with DoorDash. Same-day delivery is now available for Ulta Beauty's assortment of more than 25,000 beauty products at select stores in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, and Boise, with plans to expand and roll out to more stores throughout 2022.

The service is powered through DoorDash Drive—DoorDash's white-label fulfillment platform that provides direct delivery for any business. This seamless shopping option delivers beauty on-demand to consumers' doorsteps. The process is simple: orders are placed online, you check local store availability, and select the same-day delivery option at checkout where available.

“We see consumers looking for faster and more convenient ways to get their favorite brands delivered same-day," said Shanna Prevé, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development at DoorDash. "We are thrilled to partner with Ulta Beauty to power their same-day delivery experience and bring the magic of in-store shopping home for customers, during the holiday season and throughout the year.”

“As we enter our busiest time of year, Ulta Beauty could not be more thrilled about our partnership with DoorDash to conveniently deliver the joy of beauty," said Prama Bhatt, Chief Digital Officer, Ulta Beauty. "We take pride in being leaders that continually deliver personal, fun and seamless omnichannel experiences. This partnership represents two leaders coming together to create a new touchpoint for our guests that importantly connects our physical and digital experiences in a relevant, new way.”

DoorDash Drive helps merchants meet customer delivery demand created through owned channels, without the need for in-house infrastructure to support last-mile fulfilment. Through this partnership, Ulta Beauty will receive on-demand access to DoorDash's Dasher fleet to fulfill customers' digital orders, whether placed in advance or the same day.

Amazon raised the bar on consumers’ expectation around delivery, but beauty brands and retailers can finally compete by leveraging third-party apps. Ulta is a little late to same-day delivery, but better late than never, and just in time for the holidays.

Competitor Sephora began offering same-day delivery via the Instacart platform in as fast as an hour from nearly all Sephora store locations across North America in September 2020. Building on the success of Instacart, Sephora launched its own same-day delivery for purchases to customers nationwide in mid-October for a flat fee of $6.95. Other beauty brands are using Postmates, GoPuff, Uber Eats, the FastAF app, or micro-warehouses like Ohi to compete on the new same-day delivery expectation.