Spas will be looking to retail to recoup some of the revenue lost during the recent transitional stage into the new normal. He are five tips to increase retail revenue at your spa.
Retail is often a struggle for spas, but it’s going to be an important focus as a means of shoring up revenue as businesses start reopening from the COVID-19 lockdown and looking towards the future. Many spas will be operating a lower occupancy and /or making up for revenue lost during the lockdown. The industry will be changing how it does things and, though we don’t know how it all will unfold in the long term, we do know that some things will not be the same, probably for some time to come and possibly forever.
Many retail best practices haven’t changed. Setting goals, aligning your team, and incentivizing and rewarding retail sales, for example. It’s also always a good idea to offer loyalty points for retail purchases and to create bundles and promotions.
Other practices will have to be altered. In the past, we’ve recommended creating enticing product displays in your waiting area and placing testers within reach, to remove the psychological barrier of having to ask for something from behind the counter. But testers should now be a thing of the past, as the risk of viral contamination is just too great, and having sealed samples on hand is going to become more important. Compelling product descriptions will also become vitally important, since trying before you buy isn’t always an option anymore. Spas are going to have to get creative about marketing products.
For those who are coming into your space, the experience will be different from what it was. And then there are those who won’t be physically coming to visit your brick and mortar business. This might be for a variety of reasons; people might not yet feel comfortable going into a spa, or may be facing financial restraints due to loss of income that don’t allow them to come in for a full massage or body treatment. Or you might be operating at significantly reduced occupancy in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines and allow staff time for cleaning and sanitization.
These tips on how to increase retail revenue while operating your business in the new post lockdown era apply whether there’s a pandemic or not. But they are more relevant now than ever.
Enhance your social presence
We talk about social presence quite a bit. Chances are good that, even if you have active social media accounts, it’s hard to find the time to post to them while managing all your other tasks. But marketing your products and services is essential to the success of your business. Share your love of your gorgeous, wonderful products with the world. This is where product descriptions come in, combined with things like beautiful photography and targeting relevant audiences.
Follow up with refill reminders
Send reminders to your customers around the time that a product might be about to run out, like three months after purchase. They will likely be grateful for the heads up. Your spa software should have the functionality to automate this communication.
Host webinars and tutorials
During the lockdown, people have been eager for lessons on hair, makeup, and self care. And there are many opportunities for you and your team to share your knowledge and expertise in these areas, and an array of platforms to choose from. You can record videos for IGTV, YouTube, or Facebook, create live streams, or host classes on a platform like Zoom or Google Meet. This is a great way to increase your engagement and generate sales.
Offer virtual client consultations
If a client isn’t physically in your spa, you can still offer in-person virtual consultation with meeting software like Zoom, FaceTime, and Google Meet. This allows you to provide a personal touch. Virtual consultations should be offered as a matter of course these days. Sometimes clients are just too busy to take time to come in and still want good counsel.
Do a product overhaul
It’s never a bad time to take a good look at your inventory and clean up your product offerings. Take a look at what is selling and what isn’t, and if you’re ordering too much or too little of a product. If something isn’t selling, it might be time to remove it from your shelves. If you’re a multi-location property, you might find that a product is popular in one area and not in another. Your software should allow you to cross check your inventory and sales, after which you can ship product that isn’t selling in one place to the place where it’s more popular.
These are some of the actions you can take to increase your sales. We’re looking forward to seeing and hearing about how the spa industry gets creative about sales in this new normal.