Nail treatments outperform all other beauty services for growth

Nail treatments saw the biggest growth in bookings of any beauty service last year, while yoga came in as the most-booked fitness class.

Beauty and wellness booking app Mindbody analysed its internal data of around 800million bookings to unveil key stats about UK consumers' booking habits.

The top 10 service bookings (based on the highest percentage of growth from 2017-2018) were:

1. Nails (up 2,457%)
2. Make-up, lashes and brows (up 1,538%)
3. Hair removal (+664%)
4. Tattoo/piercing (+556%)
5. Rock climbing (+396%)
6. Cryotherapy (+162%)
7. Coaching/healing (+155%)
8. Face treatments (+146%)
9. Physical therapy (+113%)
10. Water therapy (+107%)

Charlotte Newton, senior manager of EMEA marketing at Mindbody, said: “We’re clearly a nation that enjoys looking after our appearance [but] water therapy, cryotherapy, and coaching/healing are also having a moment in the UK.

"We’re seeing a trend in consumers seeking something more unique from the wellness market that goes beyond traditional services, highlighting the importance of establishing your USP in an ever-changing, evolving market.”

Meanwhile, the top 10 fitness or wellbeing class bookings of 2018 (based on percentage of bookings in total) were:

1. Yoga (25%)
2. Barre (6%)
3. Pilates (6%)
4. Cycling (4%)
5. Bootcamp (3%)
6. Circuit training (3%)
7. Dance (2%)
8. Interval training (2%)
9. Gym classes (2%)
10. Weight training (1%)

The top three class start times were 9:30am, followed by 5:30pm then 6pm; while the most-popular class durations were an hour, then 45 minutes, followed 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Newton added: “Not long ago, we saw a rise in HIIT classes and people opting for a quick 30-minute session, but the increase in longer classes being booked could be attributed to the popularity of Yoga where a practice typically last longer than a cardio-based class. Or it could suggest that people are simply more willing to invest more time in their wellbeing, today, more than ever.”