Retail
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Retail Management for Spas | Chapter 9.5 | The Final Countdown
The last few weeks before opening may seem like crunch time, but spa professionals who have followed a solid six-month (or longer) pre-opening plan will feel well prepared for opening their doors to their guests. Only a few more details remain before celebrating a successful launch.
Retail Management for Spas: Chapter 1.3 Retail Partnerships
When it comes to retail, there are a lot of players who contribute to making it a success. There are partners, such as the media, financial institutions, local businesses, and charitable organizations, all of which can also help a spa business grow and succeed.
Retail Sales Efforts
Retail sales is always a popular topic for spa professionals, with members looking for proven methods on how to move products off the shelves, reconsidering the number of products to carry, designing creative retail displays and implementing innovative ideas to increase retail sales.
Selecting and Managing Your Retail Inventory
Managing one’s retail inventory is a critical part to a spa’s profitability. “Making good inventory decisions should always be based on demand and sales history,” says Linda Mahramnia, retail buyer at Spa Gregorie’s located in Newport Beach, California. “I firmly believe in a product life cycle, like a bell curve. You have to know when to buy, when to maximize and when to decrease product [orders].”
Shining a Light on Retail: 5 Illuminating Secrets to Spa Product Sales
Using display lighting effectively in a spa’s retail area can significantly enhance the customer experience and showcase products to be irresistibly enticing. Here are five tips to achieve great lighting:
Spa Retail Return Policies: Balancing customer satisfaction with minimizing loss
Implementing an effective return policy in your spa’s retail sales space can help maintain customer loyalty while protecting your bottom line. Here are some tips and tricks to help you manage returns efficiently.
Spa Revenue Management
Two years ago, Pulse explored revenue management in the spa industry. It was a time when many facilities were emerging from the darkest days of pandemic closures and trying to reimagine income models and new prospects for profitable practices. Now, as many spa leaders plan their operational budgets for 2024 and look for creative opportunities to become more efficient and more in tune with market demand, this is an apt time for a review of revenue management.
The general premise of revenue management is simple: Customers are willing to pay more for services during peak periods and—conversely—they may be tempted to alter their schedules to take advantage of special-value pricing in non-peak hours.
The airline industry is the go-to example of a service built on the revenue management model: Try booking a flight for Sunday afternoon or Monday morning, when you’re competing with business travelers, and you’ll find your ticket price is as much as double the fare for the same trip on a midweek evening. Likewise, a summertime excursion to a family vacation destination will almost always be more expensive than the same flight during the school year. So you, as the traveler, have a choice whether to pay more for convenient scheduling, or to rearrange your timetable to take advantage of bargain pricing.
The hotel industry adopted revenue management practices decades ago, but the spa industry has been slow to follow suit. ISPA member surveys consistently indicate the majority of spas operate on a static price schedule or institute only the most basic variable pricing with adjustments by season or day of week.
The spa industry’s hesitancy to fully embrace the strategies of revenue management may be rooted in several factors, from the perceived— and actual—complexity of developing a revenue management system to concerns that guests will respond unfavorably to any such changes. Those concerns are certainly valid, but they can also be overcome through education and careful planning. In this issue of Pulse are presented several articles meant to demystify the concepts behind revenue management, assess its potential within the spa industry and help spa leaders determine how—or whether—to apply its principles to their businesses.
Successful Retail & Product Inventory Strategies
With retail sales trends the hottest topic in the spa industry this summer, ISPA’s August Town Hall focused on successful retail and product inventory strategies. Several spa professionals shared insights relating to best practices, team training, inventory techniques, post-pandemic ordering practices and more. Panelists included Jennifer Wayland-Smith, owner of Wayland-Smith Consulting; Jamee Taylor, vice president of spa and retail at Tricoci Salon and Spa; Maylin Rojas, director of spa and retail at Nobu Eden Roc Miami; and Timothy Williams, director of spa and resort shops at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami. Kelleye Martin, ISPA vice chair, participated as moderator. ISPA thanks Body Bliss for sponsoring this Town Hall.
TWO BIG QUESTIONS IN RETAIL ARE:
- How can spas determine how much inventory to stock?
- At what point in the year should spas begin buying for the next season—or even for the next year?
Tap into Tourist Traffic: Retail and marketing tips for peak out-of-towners season
If your spa is nestled in a popular getaway location, tourism can provide a significant boost to its business. Tailoring your approach to capitalize on seasonal products and local attractions is key. Whether you’re in a winter wonderland or a sunny beach locale, effective marketing and retail strategies can help your spa stand out. Here’s how to make the most of tourist traffic.
Tell a Story with Boutique Brands
Consumers want great stories. They want a story they can believe—something they can grasp, invest and hold stake in. It is a spa professional’s responsibility, then, to define and tell a great story in the context of their spa. Great stories command attention, and when you can gain your consumer’s attention, their dollar is not far behind.