I believe it depends on what you sell, how it is introduced to the client and what her repurchase options are. I have evidence to prove that if you have a great strategy in place, you will have a healthy retail business which contributes to your gross profit and supports your professional ethos. I have heard some say that retail in hair salons is finished. I do not believe this to be true – here is why. If your retail offering to your clients is exclusive to salons and the most convenient and easily accessed route to purchase and REPURCHASE is through you, your client will follow your strategy if it is your product she wants (more about this in a minute). If you are retailing products which are readily available on the internet, (even if they are offered at a protected price) you are exposing your business and your client to a market place of wider competition. You introduce the product to your client in the salon and she purchases from you on your advice, but when she comes to repurchasing, if the timing is not around her appointment, she may choose the most convenient option to make her repurchase. The sale is made from the hairdresser recommendation in the first instance, with the added benefit that the client gets to experience the product through the hair service, but from that first purchase to the second an anomaly occurs! The repurchase is left to chance! I go back to the question – IS THERE A FUTURE FOR RETAIL IN HAIR SALONS?
What You Sell If you sell awesome products with unique ingredient options, for example: Eufora Aloetherapy based in Organic, Pharmaceutical Grade Aloe, (giving the product an amazing head start over water in the performance, just look at the benefits for hair and scalp from Aloe?) and featuring Stem Cell Technology which amplifies the benefit of the active ingredient to further boost performance – the result is a unique product that outperforms. Your client will not find a comparison.
How is it Introduced When a stylist successfully delivers Eufora’s EIGHT ESSENTIAL STEPS TO FINANCIAL SUCCESS taking into consideration the clients six week experience with her hair at home and helping the client to understand achieving her goals for her hair is 60% what we do in the salon and 40% what the client does at home, the retail strategy is alive and kicking. Add to the stylists dialogue, clear information on the features and benefits of the product for the client, what makes the product unique and the alignment in values for all stakeholders and your clients desire to buy is ignited.
Repurchase Options Now your client has been using her homecare with great results. She realises her hair goals are easier to achieve when she has the right products. She needs to replenish. Maybe this moment is around the time of her appointment, maybe she works near the salon and can simply pop in for her repurchase? If she does not have a convenient way to repurchase what are her options? Change product? – But it took her such a long time to find what really works for her. Buy in another salon more local to her? Maybe – but unlikely. Make a trip to her favourite salon (you) – it will be nice to pop in and say hi to such a friendly bunch, but she wonders if you will have it in stock? (I want to bring into this article the fact that salons often run out of bestselling products between orders – I will leave it right here!) Buy online – this is quick and easy and convenient.
The Opportunity For Retail In Salons Everyone needs shampoo! Even if you are a bald guy, you need shampoo to take care of your scalp. Alongside this essential need for every person comes other products for the condition, maintenance and style of the look. The opportunity when taken seriously is immense. During the lockdown the desire for products and advice has been overwhelming. Passion4hair, in partnership with salons, has done a tremendous job of adapting and providing a service to salon clients who needed products to see them through. What has been REALLY surprising is the products that have been popular. For an example, Eufora Conceal has been an enormous hit. It has gone from being a slow mover for Passion4hair to a best seller. We have sold TONS!! What were the clients doing with their roots after 4 weeks before? There are some stylists that were already doing really well with Conceal before the lockdown because they were introducing it to their clients as a solution for disguising roots between appointments – a decent strategy is all it takes.
