Why retail is crucial to your salon

Why is retail crucial for a salon?

From a business perspective the revenue from retail can be the difference between a salon that just scrapes by, or one that flourishes.

From your clients’ perspective, recommending and advising them on the best skincare to achieve optimum results (i.e. glowing, dewy, healthy skin) is the easiest way to demonstrate how much you care about them.

This is a simple and uncomplicated answer, and to be fair there are a million other reasons why you would retail; stop the client from wasting money on products that may not work, products that may be making their skincare concern worse, to extend the benefits of the treatment you offer (which means they’ll re-book, rave about it to their friends, and generally never want to stop), because they’re going to be buying their products from somewhere, so why not you?? And many, many more ….

 

What tips would you give to make a retail space more appealing?

Keep things clean! Sounds obvious right? Yet I’m astonished at how often I see dusty displays, dead flies & dirty testers on skincare products – yuk.

Keep the presentation simple – easy to see, easy to understand what I’m looking at, elegantly priced, well stocked, uncluttered and free from fuss & fiddly bits.

Less is definitely more when it comes to retail merchandising and displays. Promote one message, big & bold and rotate the message you’re aiming to communicate regularly.

Ensure the area is well-lit and away from busy/congested areas so I can enjoy a little privacy and time to dwell

 

What are the best-selling retail items that can't be missed on a display?

I can rarely resist a lip balm personally. The easy answer here is to understand your client. Once you understand your client demographic (age, popular/demand treatments, concerns, trends etc) you’ll have a clear idea about what they’ll need to buy.

So, for a salon doing a lot of facials it would have to cleansers & moisturisers. One with clients aged 40+ serums & facial oils are skin saviours.

Nail salons have to have cuticle oil, on-trend colours, files and buffers.

Waxing salons promote soothing gel and solutions for in-growing hair.

Summer time promote SPF protection and self-tan lotion, winter time promote moisturisers, barrier oils and skin protection …..the list of opportunities is endless

 

What are the most important things to consider when setting up a retail display?

Accessibility and light.

If everything is locked behind glass it will deter sales – we need to be able to touch, feel & experience the products before indulging in some retail therapy. Equally, if it’s in a congested area it will put people off. We need time and space to dwell, contemplate, compare and ‘have a play’ (test) and if we’re constantly jostled or asked to move we quickly get fed-up and postpone the decision to buy (often at the department store).

Poorly lit areas will either be too bright and glaring (never attractive) or conversely, too dim to allow me to read the labels/cards – neither is conducive to retail sales