Christmas retail

Get ready for GIFTING

Josie Jackson speaks to beauty business leaders about the best ways to boost retail sales throughout the festive season

While retail contributes to salon and spa revenue year-round, Christmas presents a valuable opportunity to boost sales. However, with more clients turning to online retailers – where competitive pricing can make it difficult for salons and spas to compete on cost alone – it pays to put a little extra thought into your retail strategy. With that in mind, we spoke to two leading beauty business founders about how they’re approaching retail this Christmas – and what’s helping them turn browsing into buying.

Promote bespoke services

While some shoppers love spending the time curating the perfect gift for someone special, others appreciate the hard work being done for them. “The easier you make it for the purchaser, the better,” says Clare Rogers, owner of The Treatment Rooms, Brighton. This could be as simple as offering gift-wrapping with purchase and displaying complementary products together as sets, to something more complex, like offering to create a bespoke advent calendar.

In addition to shopping for others, your clients might like to receive gifts from you, too. “We tell clients to let their friends and family know that anyone struggling to shop for them can visit us, and we’ll create a bespoke box of products suited to their skin,” she explains. “There's nothing more annoying that receiving a big box of skincare products that isn’t suitable for you!”

And don’t forget the last-minute shoppers. “Vouchers are always great,” adds Rogers. “We especially like to promote our e-vouchers once the postal service is no longer guaranteed,” she explains.

Shout about being an independent business

For independent salons and spas, Christmas is also an opportunity to remind clients why shopping with a local business offers something different to ordering online. One of the ways Beauty Lounge in Tankerton does this is through its annual festive event, which has become a fixture in the salon’s calendar.

Rather than simply discounting products, the team creates an occasion around its Christmas retail offering, with goody bags worth more than £50 and exclusive one-night-only offers. These include 4-for-3across all product ranges, a £10 voucher when spending £50 or more, and 10% off treatment courses and packages booked on the evening.

The approach has proved commercially successful, with the event bringing in around £12,000. But for owner Gemma Jarvis, the figure is only part of the story. “I think its success comes from making it an experience rather than simply a sale,” she explains. “Clients can browse, have a drink, chat with the team and receive genuine, personalised recommendations. It feels festive, sociable and very different from clicking ‘add to basket’ online.”

Come together

For Beauty Lounge, that community spirit extends beyond the salon, too. The business gets involved with its annual high street Christmas shopping event and light switch-on, joining other independent businesses in the area to encourage people to shop locally.

“Each shop has a Christmas tree outside, sponsored by local businesses, and we all get involved in putting them up,” says Jarvis. “It creates such a lovely atmosphere and encourages people to come into town and support their local independents.” It’s this sense of connection that Jarvis believes gives independent businesses an advantage during the festive season – and one that can’t easily be replicated by online retailers.

“For me, that sense of community and personal connection is something online shopping can never replicate,” she says. “Christmas gives us the opportunity not only to drive retail and future treatment bookings, but to thank our clients, support one another as independent businesses and remind people how important it is to shop locally.”