From cyber space to salon

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Th e launch of Amazon Salon in London has made some salon and barbershop owners nervous. How will the tech giant’s latest venture aff ect the hair and beauty industry? And should you really be worried?

WORDS GEORGINA WINTERSGILL

WHAT CAN MEMBERS LEARN?

PUT CLIENTS FIRST

Elena Lavagni at Amazon

Salon says: ‘We put clients at the centre of the universe. First, you understand what clients want. Then you create the services. Then you fi nd hairdressers that are able to provide them. Then you choose companies that can help.’

USE TECH WISELY

Phil Evans at Salon Guru says:

‘Think about the client journey. Does your website look good? Can clients book online quickly and easily using their phone? Can they see pictures of your work, and prices? Do you record the consultation and give the client access to it? It all makes a seamless client journey, so the client will spend their money with you and not elsewhere.’

RETHINK YOUR RETAIL

Phil Evans says: ‘Do you need to keep all your stock in the salon? Some companies off er salons a product delivery system, so your client’s order goes straight to a warehouse and products are sent out from there. Alternatively, some salons use affi liate links in their online store. When clients click on products, the salons earn commission.’ C onsumers may be deserting the high street in favour of online stores, but it’s often said that salons and barbershops should be safe – after all, you can’t get a haircut or beauty treatment online.

However, when Amazon launched its fi rst salon in London’s Spitalfi elds Market back in April, other salon owners started to feel a little worried. It’s no secret that Amazon is known for its monstrous business success: in just one year, between 2019 and 2020, its UK sales increased by 51%. And almost a quarter of its customers say they love shopping with Amazon.

Th e question is, can that same retail success transfer to the salon business? And if it does, what does that mean for independent salons? Here we explain what Amazon Salon is doing diff erently and look at the implications for the industry.

What is Amazon Salon?

Firstly, Amazon Salon isn’t a virtual salon. It’s a bricks-and-mortar business located a mile or so from Amazon’s London HQ, set over 1500 square feet on two fl oors and with 11 chairs. It off ers a full range of hairdressing services for both adults and children. An adult cut and blow- dry starts at £53.

Although nobody from Amazon was available for an interview, the launch press release calls the salon ‘an experiential venue where we showcase new products and technology’. It adds: ‘Th e salon is the latest initiative designed to support the professional beauty industry and follows the launch of the Amazon Professional Beauty Store on amazon.co.uk.’

Elena Lavagni, owner of independent salon Neville Hair and Beauty in London’s Knightsbridge, provides haircare and styling services, and put together the Amazon Salon team. Since the salon opened in April, it has maintained a staff of seven and has enjoyed a positive reception from the public, she says.

Tech… What tech?

So what technology does the salon off er? Treatments include a complimentary steam wash, a high-tech conditioning treatment that uses a steam pod to open the hair shaft. Clients fl ick through magazines on Amazon Fire tablets, there’s a ‘creative area’ for selfi es, and consultations take place in front of an augmented reality mirror where clients

IT MIGHT MAKE OWNERS THINK can see themselves with diff erent hair colours. Elena says this ABOUT WHAT THEY improves consultations and creates a buzz, CAN DO IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY and has led to an increase in colour sales. ‘It encourages clients

to be more experimental,’ she says.

Th e retail process is high-tech, too. Clients point at products they’re interested in on a display shelf, and product information appears on a display screen. Th ey can then buy the products by scanning a QR code, which takes them to the relevant Amazon page.

The Amazon threat

Although Amazon has said – and Elena reiterates – that there are no current plans to open a chain of salons, some salon owners are understandably worried.

Rob Nix, owner of Salonix Hair and Beauty Salon in Selby, North Yorkshire, says: ‘I’m massively concerned about Amazon Salon. I love technology and innovation, but is it going to run smaller salons out of business?

‘Something like Amazon Salon is new, shiny and technology-driven rather than industry-driven. Th ey’ve got this unique selling point that the industry’s not seen before. My fear is it’s going to cram tech into the industry too quickly, and smaller salons won’t be able to keep up. It’s just not something I could aff ord to implement.

‘I’m also concerned that clients will expect to pay Amazon prices for salon products. It’s happened to us before. We used to stock a big-name brand and clients told us they were able to buy it online more cheaply.’

Wider effect

While the tech being used isn’t exclusive to Amazon Salon – and is already available to anyone who’s willing and able to pay for it – Amazon Salon does allow the brand to test and demonstrate the latest products and industry technology.

Phil Evans is managing director of Salon Guru, which specialises in websites and online marketing for salons. He says that many salons are already using more tech because of Covid-19. ‘Some of our clients are using contactless check-in and check-out, and systems that allow clients to pay via their phones,’ he says.

Phil also doesn’t think Amazon’s long-term goals are to infi ltrate the industry as a salon operator. ‘It’s really good PR but I don’t think Amazon has any intention of running salons. I think they’re trying to showcase directions that technology could take in diff erent types of industries. It’s a clever bit of marketing.’

NHBF chief executive Richard Lambert agrees that the main eff ect of Amazon Salon is likely to be more nuanced than simply a rival salon threat: ‘Amazon Salon might make owners think about what they can do in terms of technology, which is going to be increasingly important in salons.

FUNDAMENTALLY, WHAT MAKES A SALON SUCCESSFUL IS THE CLIENT EXPERIENCE

‘Combining the digital world with top-quality craft will help push the salon industry forward. It isn’t going to replace the craft; technology is never going to replace a hairdresser. But it will give more ammunition to the hairdresser to be able to express themselves and to give the clients the very best service.’

9%

GET THAT GUILTY FEELING

Off ering some comfort to worried independent salon and barbershop owners, almost 1 in 10 UK consumers say they felt guilty about shopping with Amazon instead of smaller independents.

‘Many owners have already seen the value of online consultations. Th ey might also use tech to look at diff erent styles and colours with clients. Making click-and-collect retail available through the salon might be helpful as well.

‘Amazon Salon is using a lot of tech, and it looks like a very slick and impressive operation with a very slick e-commerce process but, fundamentally, what makes a salon successful is the client experience.’

Customer fi rst

Even with her established history in the salon sector, Elena says that focus on the client is the main innovation that Amazon is bringing.

‘With my Neville salon, we might have had a fabulous new product come in and we’d have to organise a really cool service or method to sell that product to the clients. With Amazon, it works the other way around: let’s look at the clients and see what they want,’ Elena says.

MICHAEL ALLEN

DIRECTOR AT ALLEN’S BARBERSHOP, GRAVESEND, KENT

Some hairdressers are quite doom and gloom about Amazon Salon, but I try to think of the positives. What can I learn from it?

There are good lessons to be taken from its use of tech. I’m into technology anyway, and I’ve adapted my salon because of Covid-19. For example, my salon is now cardless for most clients – my system stores their card details.

The way Amazon Salon is doing its retail is interesting and has given me the idea to use QR codes on my retail area. I already have a QR code on the door so people can scan it with their phone and book in.