How Salons and Spas can use Retail for Revenue During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By: Meredith Simmons
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, more and more salons and spas around the country are closing, either by choice to prevent spread or by government order. Yet, even if your doors are closed, rent is still due, and bills need to be paid. How do you keep revenue coming in when you can’t provide services? Retail.
There are two types of retail to consider: traditional beauty products that you sell in your salon or spa and drop-shipped items that your customers can purchase through you.
Traditional retail
Selling product goes hand-in-hand with salons and spas—you want your customers to have the very best items to use to keep their skin healthy, their hair shiny, and their self-esteem high. Don’t end that relationship with your customers just because your business is closed! While you may be used to selling products to your customers when they visit your business, you can sell products to them remotely through an online store in your software.
If you decide to pursue online sales, don’t forget about how you’ll deliver the products to your customers. Some salons and spas are offering curbside pickup, others are doing home deliveries, and still others are offering free shipping. Longevity Wellness in Charleston, South Carolina, is opting to ship. “We’re doing sales and offering to ship,” founder Alana Long said. “That way people don’t have to come in.”
Ready to get started?
Learn how to create an online store on Mindbody
Learn how to create an online store on Booker
Drop-shipped retail
Do you have an affiliate relationship with a product line? Do your customers love your brand and say they would buy swag if you sold it? Now’s the time to take action.
If you have an affiliate (a specific link for you to use in exchange for a share of the sale) relationship with a brand you love and trust, share those links on your social media accounts and in an email to your customers. It’s a win-win; they get the products they want, and you get revenue and don’t have to deal with shipping or delivery of the product.
The same goes for creating swag and selling it online through third-party sites like Threadless—you don’t have to worry about receiving and packing the merchandise. Your customers can shop online and get their gear, all while you earn passive revenue. And if you think a salon or spa can’t sell branded merchandise—think again. Multi-location salon Fox & Jane created a “Save a Fox” campaign to help provide income to their stylists while their salons were closed. The salon took their beloved brand and designed swag—available to anyone through an online Threadless store.