PHOTO: ©DRAGANA GORDIC/SHUTTERSTOCK
SPA SOFTWARE
The past year has proven how vital online sales are for spa businesses. How
E-commerce Spas which had the most success with online retail ran personalised promotions based on past service and purchase history
BOOK4TIME at-home packages and maintaining strong local customer databases saw many spas increase retail sales. They saw tens of thousands added to the bottom line and, in some cases, six figures’ worth of revenue. In the future, we’re looking to deepen our integrations with Magento and Shopify to facilitate upselling in a spa. For example, giving therapists the ability to make a recommendation in-room, load a shopping cart and have the retail items shipped to a client’s home versus having them pack the items in luggage and face hassles at customs.
Enabling staff to make sales online is a future goal
88 spabusiness.com issue 2 2021
helping operators to sell via the web?
Spas offered virtual workshops and services teaching clients how to relax at home using their retail products
Roger Sholanki Our approach to e-commerce is to leverage existing solutions, like Magneto and Shopify, rather than forcing spas to change their system. Online product and gift card sales kept revenue coming in when businesses were forced to close. The spas which were most successful were the ones that ran reports on past service and purchase history identifying specific customer preferences, such as product brands, to personalise offers rather than sending generic promotions to their entire customer base. This combined with personalised
are software suppliers
Matt Lerner MINDBODY With Mindbody’s spa software, spas can sell gift cards, service credits, memberships and link to their online product stores. Mindbody also has an integration with Shopify that allows spas to enter products, manage all inventory in their spa software and report on both in-store and online sales. With many spas closed retail became a critical revenue stream. Owners had more time (and financial incentive) to focus on setting up an online retail presence. Some spas put together relaxation kits and even offered virtual services and workshops, teaching clients how to relax at home using their retail products. While this was an important source of revenue, even more important was the loyalty it built with consumers looking to support small businesses. In total, revenue from online product sales increased by 19 per cent.
