It may only be mid-October, but the holiday shopping season is officially upon us.
Average household spending is expected to jump by 4% year over year in 2026, according to Deloitte’s 2026 Holiday Retail Survey, hitting $1,654 and giving retailers plenty of reason to be optimistic about year-end sales.
But with four in 10 shoppers identifying as “value conscious,” retailers also have to be strategic in how they capture that spend.
Bath & Body Works is taking a unique approach to that challenge, expanding its partnership with Ulta Beauty for the holidays and bringing back a discontinued fragrance as an exclusive offering.
Bath & Body Works expands its Ulta partnership
Earlier this year, I covered Bath & Body Works’ partnership with Ulta Beauty.
Since July, the fragrance retailer has offered a selection of its best-selling items in some 600 Ulta stores across the country.
Now, with the holiday shopping season approaching, Bath & Body Works says it will expand that partnership bringing a curated selection of fragrances and gift sets to all Ulta stores through Dec. 26.
Among the scents included in the drop is Pink Suede, a fan favorite that was discontinued in 2023 and will now be sold exclusively at Ulta.
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The limited-time offering is available in a body mist, body cream, body wash, foaming hand soap, and a three-wick candle.
A mini fragrance mist set will also be included in the product lineup as an Ulta exclusive and features five scents: Japanese Cherry Blossom, In the Stars, Warm Vanilla Sugar, Butterfly, and Champagne Toast.
Bath & Body Works has a bigger problem to solve
The expanded partnership isn’t just a holiday surprise, but rather a part of Bath & Body Works’ long-term plan to reach customers outside of its existing base.
TheStreet’s Aparajita Chatterjee recently covered the retailer’s ongoing struggles to maintain foot traffic and sales.
“Bath & Body Works reported a 5.4% decline in sales at its U.S. and Canadian stores during the second quarter, even as its direct business grew,” she reported, citing overwhelming in-store experiences and struggling mall traffic as contributing factors.
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Third-party partnerships with companies such as Ulta Beauty and Amazon, then, provide a way for the fragrance retailer to reach customers without requiring them to visit one of its own mall-based stores or shop directly through its website.
Both partnerships offer different experiences depending on what exactly shoppers are looking for.
Amazon provides a convenient way for shoppers to pick up that favorite candle or body mist, while Ulta provides an opportunity for discovery, presenting consumers with a curated selection of the brand’s most popular fragrances.
Bath & Body Works is counting on better product discovery
So far, the strategy has shown some promise.
“Expanded distribution was another area of measurable progress in the quarter,” CEO Daniel Heaf said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
“Amazon continues to scale quickly, with net sales more than tripling compared with the first quarter,” he continued. “The channel is attracting a higher mix of new-to-brand consumers who skew younger and more affluent while delivering a higher AUR than our own channels, reinforcing our confidence that Amazon can expand our reach and drive incremental growth.”
Heaf said the brand is seeing positive signs from the Ulta partnership as well.
“While still early, the initial response has been encouraging and supports our belief that thoughtfully selected partnerships can help introduce Bath & Body Works to new consumers,” he told investors.
Still, the company has yet to see enough progress from the strategy to declare a broader turnaround.
“This quarter, that evidence [that the Consumer First Formula is working] is becoming more tangible and quantifiable, with sequential improvement in body care, a return to growth in digital, and accelerated growth in expanded distribution,” Heaf said during the Q2 earnings call. “These proof points strengthen our confidence that our actions are gaining traction, but they are not yet broad enough to signal an inflection in the overall business.”
For Bath & Body Works, this expanded Ulta partnership offers another opportunity to get its products in front of customers during one of the year’s biggest spending seasons.
But the real test will be whether those customers keep coming back after the holiday rush is over.
Related: Bath & Body Works faces surprising problem as Americans return to malls
