At Ad Age’s recent Media Summit, Ulta Beauty Chief Marketing Officer Michelle Crossan-Matos spoke about the retailer’s prioritization of its loyalty program, personalization and innovation. Now, the Bolingbrook, Illinois-based cosmetics chain is testing a new program that taps into all three areas.

Ulta Beauty is partnering with SOS, a startup that provides digital vending machines of health and wellness products, for a pilot program. The six-month deal includes the installation of SOS machines doling out samples in 10 Ulta locations in New York, Massachusetts, Florida, California and Texas.

As part of the trial, Ulta advertisers will appear on digital touch screens on the front of each machine, while the 41 million members of the retailer’s loyalty program, Ultamate Rewards, will be able to pick and choose samples from inside.

Since the program is only a test, it will not be part of Ulta’s in-store retail media offerings, according to Maria Salcedo, senior VP of merchandising at the retailer. However, she said the program could lead to valuable data about what products and brands are resonating with customers.

“What is unique about the SOS sampling program is that it allows us to provide more personalized product choices for our guests and better understand their individual interests and needs across categories,” Salcedo said. She added that loyalty members and customers who sign up in stores can choose one complimentary sample in hair care, skincare and cosmetics each week.

From the choices, Ulta will be able to glean better data and insights about what customers want and serve them more tailored content and recommendations in the future, according to Salcedo. “It's a win-win trial opportunity as we reward existing loyalty members with a more customizable sampling option while incentivizing new guests to join, and we’re excited to see how guests engage with it in stores,” she added.

This marks the first partnership for SOS with a national retailer. The Boston-based company was founded three years ago by Susanna Twarog and Robina Verbeek, who were formerly in finance. SOS also works with the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers and real estate company Tishman Speyer.

The machine’s digital screens appear similar to that of Cooler Screens, a Chicago startup that rolled out a program with Walgreens featuring ads on refrigerator and freezer doors as a form of digital retail media. However, that deal ended in controversy amid complaints about the efficacy of the ads; in June, Cooler Screens sued Walgreens for $200 million, alleging breach of contract.

Twarog, co-founder and co-CEO of SOS, expects her company's pilot to be successful while others have not worked because she said the deal will “elevate the traditional store retail experience rather than replace it.” 

Experts have hailed in-store sampling as a smart way to get new products directly into the hands of interested consumers.

Ulta joins Walmart in pushing more in-store samples as a way of finding out more about consumer preferences. The retail giant recently said it will expand its sampling program to more than 1,000 locations; other grocers such as ShopRite are also growing such offerings as online ads lose their potency at targeting new customers.