Most salon owners often think of the in-person client experience. They’re in a continuous rat race to fill every salon chair. While that is important, it’s not the only thing to focus on.
With each passing year, your salon doesn’t just become a place to avail certain services. Instead, it becomes a beauty hub.
You will realise that you have a set of clients who prefer purchasing retail products from you because only you and nobody else in the market stocks those products.
Whatever be the reason, as a salon owner, you need to come to terms with the fact that retail contributes a major chunk of your revenue.
It can represent 70% of your total revenue.
With changing times, offline shopping has almost taken a backseat. Post the COVID-19 pandemic, people found it easier to shop for the same salon professional beauty brands online.
Thus, there came a paradigm shift in the way people started purchasing hair salon retail products.
Building an online store isn’t enough. You need to build trust and education around the same.
Key Takeaways
- Beyond in-salon services, every salon owner wants to generate additional revenue and selling hair salon retail products is the perfect place to start.
- If you don’t give your clients an online option to purchase retail products, you’re sending them to other websites.
- Use your hair salon software to sell retail online.
- When clients purchase directly from your online store, they feel rest assured. This reduces the risk of buying counterfeit or poor-quality professional beauty products.
The Importance of Selling Salon Retail Online
Let’s get to the crux of it. Retail sales can be a big deal for your salon.
The perfect manicure may get clients to drop by once a month but what really gets clients through the door often is your retail stash. If you’re not capitalising on retail sales, you’re probably missing out.
1. Amplifies your Revenue
Every salon owner wants to enhance their overall bottom line. Retail sales are a smart way to do so. According to a retail study conducted by SalonToday, retail sales can boost revenue by up to 20%.
An extra 20% is definitely a boon. Salons have reported a 20-30% increase in revenue after launching their online store.
2. Gives you a Chance to go Global
A physical store or salon has its limitations. Only people in your locality will know you. If it’s your dream to reach and cater to a much larger audience, you need to start selling professional beauty products online. This considerably increases your brand exposure and market potential.
3. Helps Build Client Loyalty
Recommending certain products to clients is your way of showing them that you care about their beauty and self-care. Only offering the perfect services isn’t enough to build client loyalty. You need to be invested in their journey.
Even offering retail samples is a fool-proof way to get clients to purchase the full product.
4. Enhanced Convenience
Once a customer has finally found a set of products that suit them, they would want to continue being fully stocked.
When they’re dropping by at your salon for a haircut or any other service, they’re likely to purchase their favourite shampoo or conditioner.
However, what about the other times? They would definitely prefer the luxury of shopping online from home. This convenience can lead to higher customer satisfaction and lead to repeat purchases in the long run.
5. Makes your Salon a Noteworthy Brand
As a salon owner, when you’re jotting down your salon goals, you probably want to become a beauty brand that knows it all.
In order to enter that space, you need to start selling retail.
When you build an online shop, you don’t just become a place to avail the best services but you also become a modern yet professional resource for beauty and haircare.
How to Sell Hair Salon Retail Online?
As mentioned earlier, selling beauty products can help your salon and beauty business reach new heights. In order to crack the market, here’s what you should be doing:
1. Start by Building a Seamless Shopping Experience
What is the first thing that attracts customers to shop from you? Well, it’s all about how seamless your shopping experience is. You can build a mobile-friendly online store that is easy to navigate.
Your clients should be able to access their favourite beauty products without any hindrance.
Ensure the images are professionally taken and the descriptions are detailed. Your online store should be as professional as possible.
The payment and checkout methods too should be straightforward and secure.
When you’re choosing an online retail platform, there are various routes you can take. For instance:
Hair Salon Software
In the market today, you will find several hair salon software platforms that are integrated with retail. With built-in product management and inventory, managing retail is seamless.
Clients can shop from the same place they schedule appointments. This kind of set up is ideal for salons that want to invest in minimal tech yet streamline operations.
Ecommerce Platforms
Next, you will find robust ecommerce third-party platforms like Shopify. There are beautiful designs you can choose from.
It’s ideal for salons that want limitless customisation options and want to scale their retail. This route is ideal for beginner salons that want to try their hand out at selling retail.
By keeping these points in mind, you improve the online shopping journey of the customer and encourage repeat business.
2. Put only your Best-sellers Online
Well, more is not always merrier. Giving your clients too many options can lead to confusion.
When a client visits your online store, they should experience utmost clarity not confusion. When they’re spoilt for choice, they might even end up postponing their purchase.
Thus, focus only on your top-selling products and gift cards in your retail store.
Only pick the retail items that deliver consistent results and complement your services. A few categories you should include are:
- Shampoos and conditioners
- Serums
- Dry shampoos
- Hair mousse and gels
- Hair masks
- Hair tools (high-end straightening irons and curlers)
If you’re finding it a hard time selling individual products, you can even create seasonal bundles or promotions. For instance, during winter months, clients are often on the lookout for skincare products that will prevent dryness or sun damage protection products in summer.
When you cater to the needs of the client, you will be in a better position to sell retail.
Hair salon marketing allows you to sell the right products to meet the growing needs of your client.
3. Focus on Building a Retail Strategy
When you’re planning to sell retail, don’t just list products on your online store. Instead, educate your clients. Your aim should be to build a powerful retail strategy.
A few things you can focus on are – real stylist recommendations, adding before/after pictures, product benefits and directions to use.
The goal over here is to convince the client to purchase from you.
Besides this, you must also provide your clients with a personalised client experience. Use your hair salon software to see the kind of services your client avails. Based on that, make recommendations to them.
For instance, if a client comes to every month for a root touch-up, recommend a colour protect shampoo to them that will keep the colour for a long time. Also, you don’t have to personally make these recommendations as AI will do it for you.
Other things you can do to personalise the experience further is offering digital consultations and fun quizzes.
4. Invest in Staff Training
There is a common misconception that staff training is only for offline sales. Well, your stylists and technicians are the ones who are casually going to be upselling retail for you.
Thus, make sure your team knows your products in order to recommend them. A few points you need to cover during the training period are – what does the product do? What type of skin or hair does it suit? What issue does the product address?
You can even test the products on staff members to show them the real use-case. This will put them in a better position while recommending the products.
5. Spread the Word about Your Salon’s Online Store
Now that you’ve built your online retail store, you need to start spreading the word.
Facebook and Instagram are two of the best places to start. Basically, you need to promote everywhere your clients are.
Make detailed videos and product demos, and post them on these online platforms. You can also send newsletters with the best-selling products.
Use content to your advantage. This will help you sell your products. However, make sure you don’t offer them on discounts.
The holiday season is the only time you should focus on running sales.
You can also retarget your clients and follow-up with them in case they haven’t purchased your products in a while.
Even seasonal transitions are a good time to run a hair salon marketing campaign.
6. Create an Enticing Offline Retail Display
To entice your customers to shop with you online, you need to entice them offline. Look for salon retail display ideas on Pinterest. Work towards creating a visually-appealing setup.
Use glass shelves to display your products and make each of them the focal point. Also, make sure you keep the retail display near the waiting area.
When your clients are waiting to be taken in for their appointment, they’re likely to browse through this section and even read the ingredients of certain products.
This serves as a soft introduction for them to make a purchase later.
7. Send out Product Samples
Try-before-you buy is the best way to get clients to make an online purchase. Use your hair salon booking system to dig out your client database.
Send your most loyal clients samples based on the treatments they’ve availed from you in the past. Your salon CRM should have all these details.
When you make personalised product recommendations, your clients are more likely to make a purchase.
In Summary
When you’re in the beauty business, mastering hair salon retail sales is an absolute must. If you’ve been selling retail offline all this while, it’s high time you go online.
In fact, it’s no longer optional. It’s a growth engine for your beauty business and gives it the much-needed impetus to enhance revenue. It also helps foster stronger relationships with your clients.
To help you sell retail online better, switch to Salon360App, hair salon software. Beyond being an appointment booking tool, it is a central hub that powers your business and boosts retail sales.
