6 Ways to Make Your Salon Suite More Profitable with Point-of-Sale Add-Ons
THOUGHT PROCESS
Increasing retail sales has a direct correlation to increasing a Salon Suite’s profitability, average ticket and client lifetime value.
ACTION STEPS
Develop a seasonal approach that leverages your point-of-sale or retail area to continually renew client interest and increase impulse buy sales.
Is Your Salon Suite Leaving Money on the Table?
If you’re not leveraging the point of sale (or some other merchandising space in your Salon Suite) for impulse buy items, you’re leaving money on the table. The vast majority of your clients make impulse buys, many on a regular basis. 84 percent of Americans admit to making an occasional impulse buy according to a CreditCards.com poll, which also found that:
Increasing retail sales has a direct correlation to increasing a Salon Suite’s profitability, average ticket and client lifetime value.
ACTION STEPS
Develop a seasonal approach that leverages your point-of-sale or retail area to continually renew client interest and increase impulse buy sales.
Is Your Salon Suite Leaving Money on the Table?
If you’re not leveraging the point of sale (or some other merchandising space in your Salon Suite) for impulse buy items, you’re leaving money on the table. The vast majority of your clients make impulse buys, many on a regular basis. 84 percent of Americans admit to making an occasional impulse buy according to a CreditCards.com poll, which also found that:
- 77% of Americans made impulse buys within the past 3 months
- 79% made their impulse buys in a physical store; only 6 percent via smartphone or tablet
- 47% of impulse buys were purchased for the buyer (61% of those aged 18-29 purchased items for themselves)
- Clients aged 30-49 are most likely to buy for a child, those 65+ for a spouse or significant other
As a professional you may think of your Salon Suite mainly in terms of the client services you offer; however, your Salon Suite is also a brick and mortar retail store. You have the same ability to reach out to consumers based on the types of impulse buy items they are likely to purchase for themselves or others as any other retail store. But are you thinking like a retailer?
6 Ways to Build Salon Suite Growth Momentum with Point-of-Sale Impulse Items
1. Assume that every client is willing to buy an impulse item.
The vast majority of Americans have purchased on impulse (often right at the point of sale) in order to indulge themselves or someone else. Make sure that you have set aside space at the point-of-sale, near the client station or in a prominent position among retail items for impulse buy items.
2. Use impulse items to introduce other retail products.
Mini-size retail products your clients may purchase for travel or trial use can be a great way to get your Salon Suite’s customers hooked on professional products. They enable clients to indulge themselves in professional salon products without having to make a big investment. You can also use these low-cost-per-unit impulse items as a free gift with purchase to incentivize sales of full-size retail products or big-ticket services.
3. Don’t let your point-of-sale displays stagnate.
It’s human nature for our brains to ignore the familiar, the things we perceive we’ve already seen before. Your impulse buy displays can become the means to keep clients intrigued by what’s going on in your Salon Suite. Buying in a new retail product line can be costly and represent a big, long-term commitment; however, buying in a point-of-sale impulse buy display is comparatively inexpensive.
This makes POS (point-of-sale) displays the perfect retail item to change on a regular basis, or as each display sells through. It can also help you create urgency around impulse buy items because “when they’re gone, they’re gone!”
Instead of continually purchasing the same items for impulse buys, change out your display seasonally, or even every 2 months or so to correspond to the client re-booking cycle. When clients see something new in your Salon Suite, their brain says, “hey! I better check this out, it’s something I haven’t seen before!” Many will look forward to seeing what new item you’ve brought in for them with each subsequent appointment.
4. Choose impulse buy items which are appropriate for your client base.
Is your client base on the younger side? 61 percent of consumers age 18-29 don’t just buy impulse buy items, they purchase them as a self-indulgence. Conversely, your middle-aged clients are those most likely to buy impulse items for children, and older clients are most likely to buy them for a significant other. As you think about the makeup of your client base, try to choose impulse buy items that fit their spending patterns.
5. Don’t forget to promote impulse items!
Use social media, email newsletters and other marketing tools to let people know about the impulse buy items currently available in your Salon Suite. This can be a great way to create anticipation among clients before they come to their appointment, so they’re already interested and prepared to add-on impulse items before they leave. It can also be a great way to introduce your Salon Suite to new clients who are interested in these items.
6. Remember what people forget.
Have you ever been at the grocery store and had the sales associate ask, “Do you need any stamps today?” Questions like these help people remember things they might need but which are easy to forget. You might want to dedicate some portion of your impulse buy retail to the practical types of items people often need but forget, lose or use up, like nail files, clippers, hair ties, mascara. lacquer remover, lip balm, stocking stuffers during the holidays, gift items for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and so on.
