Ulta, Stitch Fix, and Tapestry Reveal How AI Is Reshaping Omnichannel Retail

Quick Facts

Ulta Beauty has 47 million loyalty members, with 95% of sales flowing through its program, and recently completed a major IT overhaul called Project SOAR.
Stitch Fix says AI-driven personalization boosted average order value by 40% and helped double revenue from $1.7 billion to $3.2 billion over four years.
Tapestry’s digital chief warned brands not to start with technology first, saying AI adoption must be rooted in understanding customers and store associates.

At the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York on June 24, retail executives from Ulta Beauty, Stitch Fix, and Tapestry outlined how artificial intelligence is changing omnichannel retail without replacing the emotional connection that drives store traffic and loyalty.

The panel, titled “From Digital Natives to Legacy Institutions: Omnichannel’s Next Era,” drew from more than 2,500 attendees at the two-day conference, which centered on how retail leaders are deploying AI across marketing, merchandising, and customer experience.

AI Changes How Consumers Find Products

Kimberly Shenk, CEO of marketing technology firm Novi, told the audience that product discovery is shifting fast. “Most consumers are shifting discovery to agents, agentic platforms, ChatGPT, Gemini,” she said.

Shenk noted that AI recommends products as solutions to consumer problems, not by brand name. That means brands need to position themselves within the fan-out queries of large language models that conduct their own research before surfacing recommendations.

Ulta Builds the Tech Stack to Match Its Data

Josh Friedman, SVP of ecommerce and digital at Ulta Beauty, said the retailer’s scale gives it a rare advantage. With 95% of sales running through its loyalty program across 47 million members and 1,500 stores, Ulta has a deep view of who is buying what. “We know a thing or two about not only what we’re selling, but who we’re selling into, and turning that into gold for the guests is really important to us,” Friedman said.

Ulta launched an AI-powered shopping agent called Ulta AI and integrated Google’s Gemini to support agentic commerce. The retailer also expanded same-day delivery through Uber Eats, added Buy Now, Pay Later via Klarna, and launched a TikTok Shop with a shoppable live stream that generated over 5 million impressions.

Underpinning these moves is Project SOAR, an IT overhaul that cost tens of millions of dollars and represents the most significant infrastructure upgrade in Ulta’s 35-year history. The project is designed to ensure inventory reaches the right location at the right time.

A report Ulta commissioned with NielsenIQ found that 78% of Gen Alpha consumers discover beauty products online, but 77% seek in-store validation before buying. AI users in that cohort are more likely to visit physical stores than non-users.

Stitch Fix Ties Revenue Growth to AI Personalization

Stitch Fix credited AI-powered personalization with a 40% increase in average order value, a 40% rise in repeat purchases, and a 15% boost in customer retention. Revenue grew from $1.7 billion to $3.2 billion over four years. Today, 75% of Stitch Fix box selections are driven by AI.

In October 2025, the company launched Stitch Fix Vision, which generates personalized images of clients wearing curated outfits based on their style profile and current trends. CEO Matt Baer called it a step toward a shopping experience where “clients can see themselves reflected throughout every step of their shopping journey.”

Stitch Fix posted Q3 fiscal 2026 revenue of $340.3 million, topping the $332.56 million forecast. The company raised its full-year outlook and reported its fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth on an adjusted basis.

Tapestry Urges Restraint on Tech Investment

Mandeep Bhatia of Tapestry, the parent company of Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman, pushed back on the idea of deploying AI for its own sake. “Don’t start with technology first,” he told the audience. “Just because AI is there doesn’t mean that we have to start creating those things. It has to be rooted in the understanding of customers and the understanding of associates.”

Bhatia framed technology investments as falling into three categories: painkillers, vitamins, or chocolates. The right balance, he said, only comes from understanding what customers actually need rather than what the technology makes possible.

What This Means for Operators

The shared message across all three companies was that AI is a tool for improving known customer problems, not a replacement for brand building or human judgment. Retailers with rich first-party data, like Ulta’s loyalty program, are positioned to apply AI most effectively. Those without that foundation face a harder path as AI-driven discovery shifts away from brand-name search and toward problem-based recommendations.