Ulta Beauty is watching a new consumer pattern take shape inside its stores, and it traces back to one of the biggest pharmaceutical trends of the decade. CEO Kecia Steelman said in an interview released Monday by Yahoo Finance that customers using GLP-1 weight-loss medications are increasingly shopping for products that address hair thinning and changes in skin texture, two concerns that have become more common as the drugs gain wider adoption across the United States.
Steelman noted that hair loss linked to GLP-1 use is a genuine concern for shoppers, and that rapid weight loss also increases demand for moisturizing products designed to support skin that has lost some of its natural elasticity. She added that these needs closely mirror the product preferences of consumers focused on preserving long-term skin health, creating a natural overlap between two growing customer segments.
The scale of GLP-1 adoption
The size of the opportunity becomes clearer when the numbers behind GLP-1 adoption are considered. According to an EY consumer products expert cited in industry coverage, roughly 10% of the U.S. population was using some form of weight-loss medication in 2025. Clinical trials for Wegovy, one of the leading brands in the category alongside Ozempic, reported hair loss as a side effect in 3% of participants, giving the beauty industry a concrete signal that demand for targeted products in this space is not speculative.
The trend is showing up elsewhere in the consumer market as well. Galderma’s chief executive told Bloomberg in 2024 that facial fillers were seeing strong demand from people seeking to address the facial changes that can accompany significant weight loss. Separately, tailors reported a surge in wardrobe alterations from clients whose body proportions had shifted, reflecting just how broadly GLP-1 use is reshaping consumer spending habits across categories.
What it means for Ulta’s business
For Ulta Beauty, the timing of this trend aligns with a period of strong financial performance. The company reported annual sales of $12.39 billion in fiscal 2025, an increase of 11.8% from the prior year. Skincare, wellness and hair care together accounted for 43% of total sales, making them the categories most directly positioned to benefit from GLP-1 related demand shifts.
Comparable sales rose 5.4% for the full year, supported by a 3.3% increase in average transaction value and a 2% rise in the number of transactions. In the fourth quarter alone, comparable sales climbed 5.8%, with average ticket up 4.2% and transactions increasing 1.6%. Ulta’s stock has risen roughly 50% over the past year, reflecting investor confidence in the retailer’s ability to identify and respond to emerging growth drivers.
What comes next
Looking ahead, Ulta is projecting beauty category growth in the range of 2% to 4% in fiscal 2026, in line with historical averages. Comparable sales growth guidance of 2.5% to 3.5% suggests the company expects demand to remain steady rather than accelerating sharply, particularly given broader economic uncertainty and the spending caution many consumers are still exercising.
The GLP-1 related demand wave is still relatively early. As the medications become more accessible and long-term use becomes more common, the beauty industry’s response to the side effects they produce is likely to become a more defined product category rather than a secondary consideration. Ulta appears to be among the first major retailers to name it directly.
