CQL Acquires Riess Group to Become the Leading Global Shopify Agency for Unified Commerce. Read the Press Release
CQL Acquires Riess Group to Become the Leading Global Shopify Agency for Unified Commerce. Read the Press Release
Tarte Cosmetics is one of the most recognizable names in beauty today. Known for its cruelty-free, vegan-friendly makeup and skincare, Tarte has built a global following through innovative formulas, eco-conscious values, and its “beauty without compromise” philosophy. With a highly engaged digital audience and a strong presence across social platforms – earning recognition as TikTok’s Beauty Brand of the Year – Tarte’s ecommerce experience needs to move as fast as the brand itself.
Tarte’s transition from Salesforce Commerce Cloud to Shopify was a brand evolution: a strategic investment in agility, innovation, and global scalability. Working in close collaboration, CQL and Tarte’s digital, operations, technology, and CX teams partnered to build new flagship ecommerce experiences for both the U.S. and international markets. The initiative focused on creating a stronger foundation for growth while enabling richer storytelling, improved product discovery, a faster path from inspiration to checkout, and leveraging Shopify’s dynamic partner ecosystem including Attentive, Bloomreach, Gorgias, and Yotpo.
The result is a modern commerce experience designed to move at the pace of beauty culture. The redesigned storefront features enhanced visuals and a streamlined user experience, while Shopify’s flexible architecture enables the team to launch new initiatives quickly and scale globally. Tarte and CQL worked as a single team to architect a platform that balances creative freedom with operational efficiency, empowering the brand to better serve its community of “tartelettes” across channels, borders, and emerging digital experiences.
Tarte’s brand experience is built around creativity, personalization, and product discovery, and the new Shopify implementation reflects that philosophy. Custom capabilities, including virtual try-on experiences, dynamic product bundling, and a highly interactive mini-cart, allow shoppers to experiment with products, build personalized collections, and select samples directly within the cart experience. These features create a more engaging path to purchase while giving Tarte greater flexibility to merchandise collections, promotions, and curated product sets in ways that are uniquely tailored to their audience.
“As a founder, I’ve always believed in meeting our customers where they are—and giving them a shopping experience as easy and high-performing as our products. This move to Shopify is more than a platform shift. It’s a commitment to constant innovation, customer-first thinking, and staying ahead of what’s next.”
Maureen Kelly
Founder & CEO
Tarte Cosmetics
One of the most transformative aspects of Tarte’s move to Shopify has been the agility it gives Tarte’s internal teams. Shopify’s flexible CMS allows marketers to launch campaigns, update content, and support flash promotions in hours instead of days. New sections and content blocks can be created rapidly by developers and reused across pages, enabling the brand to move faster when launching products, testing new ideas, or supporting viral social moments. What once required heavy development planning can now be executed quickly, allowing Tarte to keep pace with the fast-moving, trend-driven world of beauty.
“The move to Shopify wasn’t just a launch. We chose a partner that moves as fast as we do. It’s a bold bet on where beauty is headed: social-first & seamlessly shoppable.”
Theresa Cowing
VP, DTC & Social Commerce
Tarte Cosmetics
