2015 Beauty Industry Trends and Salon and Spa Opportunities

Blurred lines abound when it comes to 2015 beauty industry trends. Salon and spa pros will find new opportunities as they address the challenges presented by the ever-evolving industry.

8 Beauty Industry Trends for 2015 + Ideas for Growing a Salon or Spa

Change is a constant, nowhere more so than the world of beauty and fashion. With the decade at its midpoint, spa and salon professionals can look to current trends as well as future forecasts in order to build a book of business that will keep them profitable for years to come.

2015 Beauty Industry Trends and Salon and Spa Opportunities

It’s All a Blur

Continued blurring of the lines between salon and mass retail (including e-commerce) as consumers may look to beauty pros for expertise but not think twice about buying recommended products elsewhere.

The beauty industry has yet to find the marketing message that will resonate with consumers (in order to get them to buy more retail exclusively from a salon). The ones that aren’t working include:

  • self-serving “support the salon industry” or supporting this salon type messages
  • caution about product integrity for items bought elsewhere
  • complaints about diversion or greed of manufacturers

The marketing message that is going to motivate consumers to buy beauty and hair products directly from their local salon or spa will only be the marketing message that clearly tells the consumer what’s in it for them.

Perhaps the simplest answer might be for beauty pros to adopt salon marketing tactics that work to attract local customers as well as online shoppers – inbound content marketing, on-page education, and exclusive offers – and rely on increased volume instead of badgering clients for exclusivity.

Invisible Walls

Question crop up on social networks all the time from salon owners wondering what type of business model is best, and the comments which inevitably follow don’t always help to provide a clear answer. In addition to traditional salon business models there is now a rising tide of salon suites which are blurring the lines even further, as far as the consumer is concerned. The consumer is not likely to make a clear distinction or discern an advantage in one business model or another, so long as they can find a stylist they like.

97% of local consumers start their search for local businesses online (BIA/Kelsey). Smart salon suite and booth rental salon owners will understand that providing a brand umbrella and pooling resources in order to put out a strong omni-channel marketing effort with website optimized for search, content, email and text marketing, social media presence and events is the best way to attract local customers and build a book of business.

Pooled resources can also help them increase their buying power and put a cohesive retail center together. The more cooperatively they work as one unit, the better business will be for all of them. It will be important for salon suite franchise owners and booth rental salon owners to put expectations in writing including a business and marketing plan that everyone agrees to support.

Beauty Industry and Early Adopters Push the Boundaries

Consumers that are willing to adopt non-traditional hair color, makeup, nail décor and other tradition-defying beauty regimens will have no problem finding beauty pros to assist. Look for continued innovation as hairdressers, estheticians, technicians and other salon and spa pros experiment themselves. As early adopters move on to the next “bright shiny toy,” expect larger numbers of consumers to follow suit in asking for non-traditional color, accessories and cosmetics as well as education for day-to-day application.

Tech Sells

Technology helps sell products and tools — apps, videos and other digital displays that demonstrate use and effects over time will appeal to today’s connected consumer and make them feel more confident about buying. With digital support that demonstrates use, consumers will also experience more success in using products at home, which can greatly increase repeat purchases, viral sharing and word of mouth recommendations.

Go Online or Go Home

Well over half of beauty users shop for deals online, and online beauty product sales are growing; 2013 saw 19% year over year growth. Beauty pros that don’t sell online can still win by getting search-optimized content online for local shoppers that are looking for deals online.

Nine out of ten premium makeup consumers (people who spend more than $500 a year on makeup) are 90% more likely to seek online reviews for items they’re interested in buying. Plus, eight of ten are more likely to buy products online and twice as likely to say that brand is more important than price.

The downside to buying online remains what it always was: in person experience may not match up to product promises, appearance or consumer expectation. Salons and spas that provide consumers with the ability to try before they buy can successfully appeal to local consumers that generally want to try before they buy as well as those who have been disappointed by buying online in the past.

Influx of Fashion

The professional beauty industry has always worked hand in glove with the fashion industry, but now major players in fashion are making their way into product lines traditionally reserved for the salon and spa. The lines can blur both ways. Salon and spa owners should consider whether bringing hair, makeup or skin products sporting big name in the fashion world might be a good add to retail.

Just Add Water and Stir

Consumers don’t care where they get it, just so they get it now. They’ll source buying alternatives from the chair if they aren’t comfortable with price, or need to reorder between appointments. According to beautystat.com, a significant number of consumers check prices and stock availability on mobile devices before buying; in fact, millennials are 4x more likely to use mobile devices for research and shopping.

Salons and spas can play to the consumer’s growing penchant for price-checking by providing price and value comparison data on shelves alongside products as well as on their website and email newsletters. In addition, salons and spas might consider offering a price match guarantee in the form of salon credit toward a future appointment or extending a permanent discount on retail only for their most loyal clients, such as for spa or salon clients who book out appointments 6-12 months in advance.

Products like dry shampoos that cater to speed and convenience of today’s busy consumer will continue to make inroads, but clients still aren’t all that sure how to incorporate them into their day to day lives. According to Unilever, 83% of US women forego washing their hair at least one day each week. For stylists, this represents a real opportunity to educate clients on not on the use of dry shampoo as a shampoo replacement, but as styling aid. Plus, stylists can point to other benefits, longer-lasting hair color, protection of hair’s natural oils and helping to avoid chemicals found in many shampoos that can damage hair over time.

Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth

Consumers care about what’s inside. They may not necessarily be willing to pay more, but the number of educated consumers who care about whether there’s anything particularly harmful or helpful in products or its delivery system is growing, thanks to the abundance of educational resources online.

Of course, not everything you read online is true. Hairdressers, estheticians and other beauty pros need to be aware that their clients may be reading scary articles online that rely on junk science, opinion or outright deception. It’s still the beauty professionals job to educate their clients, and today that might necessitate asking questions to be sure that their clients aren’t being deceived by inaccurate information.

***
Sources:
beautystat.com, 2014-2015-2016 Beauty Industry Market Trends
cosmeticsdesign.com, US Consumer Trends to Influence Beauty and Skin Care Brands in 2015

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of the 2015 Salon Marketing Calendar  called “Making the Cut.” Written just for Independent Beauty Professionals, Making the Cut has hundreds of low-cost and no-cost marketing ideas which can help booth renters, salon suite owners, salon owners and salon managers engage, motivate and retain more clients in 2015!
***
Enjoy 100 Years of Beauty in 1 Minute – Showing the Trends Decade by Decade For the Past 100 Years

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOyVvpXRX6w]

1 reply

Comments are closed.