Ulta Beauty’s fiscal year is off to a strong start, with Q1 net sales up 11.1% to $3.2 billion and broad-based growth across all channels and major categories, despite persistent economic pressure on consumers, according to the company. Executives have attributed the success in part to its marketing.

Leading the way is Kelly Mahoney, who was recently named one of the world’s most influential CMOs by Forbes. Mahoney was appointed chief marketer last year after holding key marketing roles since joining Ulta in 2015 and has quickly ramped up efforts and partnerships that build the brand and contribute to growth.

Ads have been showing within Google’s AI Mode since around the 19th of November 2025. This is despite the announcement at Google Marketing Live in May, with testing apparently being in motion for months before the first discovery, though I’m using the November 2025 date as a key milestone in the rollout, as this was when they had clearly ramped up their appearance significantly. 

Customers expect every interaction to be relevant, timely and personalised, yet many marketers still struggle to deliver this consistently. The challenge isn’t having more customer data, it’s making smarter decisions with it at the speed and scale customers now expect.

AI Decisioning is an emerging approach that uses AI to determine the next best action for every customer, helping marketers deliver more intelligent, responsive experiences. This practical guide explains what AI Decisioning is, why it matters, and how to get started.

The promise of AI technology that is often repeated is it can transform how CX teams scale their operations, make employees more productive and open up access to data on unprecedented levels. It doesn’t always work out this way, according to Brian Cantor, managing director at CMP. The benefits vendors promised from their AI solutions can fall short in unexpected ways or require more investment than initially expected.

Segmentation has long played a role in targeting different consumer groups. Demographics and location data were first, offering a powerful way to target customer segments based on what they’re likely to want.

With new technology, it’s now possible to understand consumers on an even deeper level. Customer habits and actions say a lot about their purchasing behavior, and understanding these factors is vital to optimizing our marketing campaigns.

Every week, the same tension fills boardrooms across the DTC landscape. As the week closes, the gap between projected and actual revenue widens, and the instinct is always the same: sacrifice price to force volume.

Blanket discounting becomes the business model. It starts as a temporary fix (a 30% off site-wide sale to bridge a revenue gap) but quickly metastasizes into a long-term dependency. While the immediate revenue spike provides short-term relief, the hangover is severe. Margins erode, brand equity dilutes, and most dangerously, customers are trained to wait.

People on Pinterest plan for weeks before they make a purchase. Brands that show up during that process build the intent that makes peak season campaigns convert. Every advertiser knows how chaotic Q4 gets. You have to spend more to compete for attention that’s harder than ever to get, and most platforms make this worse, not better; you’re competing in feeds where people aren’t really looking for anything in particular.

The United States and China account for the largest and fastest-growing luxury markets. A closer look at client expectations across four dimensions reveals how players can reignite growth. As the luxury market emerges from a period of slower growth, consumers in the United States and China will play an outsized role in determining which brands emerge as leaders. These two countries represent the industry’s most significant concentration of luxury demand: The United States remains the world’s largest luxury market by sales, while China is expected to be among its fastest-growing through 2030. Overall, the global luxury market is projected to reach $700 billion by the end of the decade, growing 4 to 6 percent annually.