In episode 407 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Kelly Mahoney, vice president of customer marketing at Ulta Beauty, the largest U.S. beauty retailer and the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care products and salon services. During the interview, Mahoney discusses her role's dual responsibilities across marketing and loyalty at Ulta (0:46); the acquisition strategy for the retailer's loyalty program, Ultamate Rewards (1:17); and why store associates are essential to the program's growth (2:13).

Furthermore, Mahoney discusses how Ulta creates personalized experiences for its loyalty members across channels (3:20); how the beauty retailer collects, stores and utilizes customer data (5:40); and why her team is focused on connecting to customers emotionally and creating brand love through Ultamate Rewards (8:15).

This episode was recorded live at CRMC 2023 in Chicago. The podcast series is sponsored by PRIMO.

Kelly Mahoney has a proven executive leadership track record and over 15 years experience driving revenue growth through loyalty, payment, and technology-led marketing solutions. Mahoney is the vice president of customer marketing at Ulta Beauty, responsible for the Ultamate Rewards loyalty program, member lifecycle communications, and enterprise-wide personalization strategies as well as CRM solutions. She plays a critical role in delivering value-added programs to members, enabling associates to deliver a superior member experience, and increasing top-line growth to the enterprise. Prior to this role, Mahoney held the position as director of strategy at Ulta Beauty, responsible for the strategic plan for retail process optimization by focusing on the development and execution of omnichannel solutions, mobile payment, associate training and communications.