How Ulta, Sephora, and Boots Are Competing on TikTok Shop
Major beauty retailers including Ulta Beauty, Sephora, and Boots are bringing major beauty retail onto TikTok Shop with distinct social-commerce strategies. As TikTok increasingly influences consumer product discovery, these established retailers are moving away from waiting for viral products to send shoppers to traditional websites or physical stores.
TikTok says Live shopping sales increased 55% year over year in 2026, while beauty became one of TikTok Shop UK’s strongest categories. In the US, beauty generated $2.7 billion on TikTok Shop in 2025, according to Charm.io, alongside more than a billion monthly beauty-related searches.
Ulta Beauty and Sephora Expand Social Selling Strategies
The strategy expanded to include exclusive bundles, early-access launches, and brand partner moments. Data from Iced Media identified approximately 2,800 Ulta Beauty affiliates generating sales, creating a distributed sales base where the nine largest affiliates accounted for only about 24% of affiliate gross merchandise value.
Sephora entered the social selling platform on September 19 with the Sephora Drop Shop experience, offering an exclusive curated selection of beauty products for TikTok Shop US users.
Boots Enters the Platform
Boots launched its first TikTok Shop storefront on September 28, initially stocking a curated assortment from No7’s Pro Artist, Good Intent, and Prime Forever collections. Paula Bobbett, Chief Digital and Data Officer at Boots, called the onboarding an important step in creating a more connected shopping experience that brings inspiration and purchase closer together. The launch was accompanied by a No7 Live shopping event and exclusive offers, with more Boots brands and products scheduled to follow in the coming months.