Research finds most clients want to buy products from salon
A total of 85% of Irish clients want to buy retail products from their beauty salon of choice, according to new research from salon software company Phorest.
Despite this, only 28% of them said that they frequently buy products from their salon. The majority of participants surveyed said that they usually purchase beauty products from online retailers (37%), pharmacies (22%), and supermarkets (14%).
The results were similar when Irish clients of hair salons were asked where they purchase their hair products. While 73% said that they would like to purchase retail products while in the salon, only 32% actually do. Most participants said they purchase hair products from their local supermarkets (38%), while online retailers (19%) and pharmacies (12%) were other popular choices.
When asked how they would prefer to purchase products from their salon, 54% of beauty salon clients and 27% of hair salon clients selected online shopping.
Product subscription service
Meanwhile, 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.
According to Phorest, subscription refill services allow clients to have products automatically shipped to them as soon as their existing product is expected to run out.
“This is a key insight for Irish salons and presents a huge opportunity for them to build a recurring revenue stream into their business,” said Verna Wall, lead researcher at Phorest Salon Software.
“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.”
As part of the research, Phorest also surveyed salons on their retail offerings and found that Irish hair and beauty salons had the highest percentage of any region surveyed for selling online, with 74% operating an online store – higher than in the UK (50%) and the US (37%). The survey found that only 7% of Irish salons currently offer a product subscription or refill service.
“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,” said Wall. “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.”
