Research shows salons should embrace new ways of retailing

Retailing products in salons should be an easy way to increase revenue although it's something many struggle with. However, new research shows that salons may be able to grow their retail success by embracing multiple ways for clients to purchase.

The research, conducted by Phorest Salon Software, reveals that a massive 85% of Irish people are eager to buy retail products from their beauty salon but only 28% of people said that they are actually doing so. Instead respondents said that prefer to purchase online (37%), from pharmacies (22%) and supermarkets (14%).

The same goes for hair products, with 73% saying that they would like to purchase retail products in-salon but only 32% actually taking home hair care at the end of their appointment.

Salons keen to up their retail revenues should perhaps consider a subscription model, enabling clients to have products automatically shipped to them when their existing product is expected to run out, typically monthly. More than half of those surveyed (56%) said that they would be likely or very likely to subscribe to a product subscription service with their hair salon, while 59% said they would be likely or very likely to subscribe to this service with their beauty salon. The research showed that currently only 7% of salons offer a subscription or refill service.

Salons keen to up their retail revenues should perhaps consider a subscription model, enabling clients to have products automatically shipped to them when their existing product is expected to run out, typically monthly.
Positively, Phorest also discovered that 74% of Irish hair and beauty salons operate an online store, more than in the UK (50%) and USA (37%). As perhaps expected, 54% of beauty salon clients and 27% of hair salon clients selected online shopping when asked how they would prefer to purchase products.

Commenting on the results of the research, Verna Wall, Lead Researcher at Phorest Salon Software, says:

“This is a key insight for Irish salons and presents a huge opportunity for them to build a recurring revenue stream into their business. With so many businesses learning how to adjust to ever-increasing costs, having a stream of guaranteed income would lay a solid foundation to keep their businesses income on track.”

She adds:

“From our data, two things are clear; consumers want to buy products from their salons, but salons are not keeping up with modern ways to allow their customers to purchase from them. Clients want to be able to shop from the comfort of their own homes, or not to have to think about restocking at all! Are you missing out on sales, simply because you don't have an online store or product refill service? If you're eager to boost retail sales, having great products isn't enough. It's time to open an online store, start offering a subscription service, and give your customers multiple ways to purchase their favourite products from you, instead of the retail giants.”

Phorest Salon Software