Liz McKeon’s guide to maximising retail during summer months

Summer is a key season for salon and spa retail. Everyone is excited about their summer holidays and waxing, tanning, lashes, manicures and pedicures are now all essential beauty rituals for clients' pre-travel.

Stocking adequate supplies of retail product to support these treatments is a no-brainer, but they need to be recommended and promoted to ensure that clients are aware of the benefits of each line. 

I have listed a few key promotions you can quickly and easily introduce into your business that will generate customer interest and boost sales in an instant. 

Beyond this there are more opportunities. Are you letting your clients buy their sun products from pharmacies and department stores? Sun Protection is a ‘hot' category in the cosmetics industry, but less than 5% of these sales are transacted in spas and beauty salons.

This can be a valuable revenue stream during summer and as trusted skincare advisors, salons and spas should be offering direct and targeted aftercare advice for clients on sun protection whilst offering relevant retail products in your retail space. 

Do you educate your clients about the importance of sun protection? According to the National Cancer Institute, a staggering 42% of adults don't use sun protection. So immediately there is an untapped market for your business, while offering good salon customer service. Educate your clients; ask them to consider this hard fact – of all cancers, skin cancer is the most common, making sun screens their number one skincare priority. SPF protection is a big topic and the consumer press are writing about this on a regular basis.

Moisturisers are also being formulated with SPF protection said to guard against pollution, environmental aggression and also blue light damage from digital devices. The retail potential is huge, and with a dedicated retail line that is strong in SPF protection, plus a retail strategy backed up by client education, this could transform your business during summer. And it's never too late to start, as many clients without children will holiday later in the year – and long-haul travel is a year-round opportunity. 

There are also post-sun rescue remedies for skin – both face and body as well as after sun lotion. Once clients return from holiday, they might want to over haul their skin with hydrating face and body treatments or be looking for post sun pigmentation treatments.

These are all seasonal opportunities to benefit your business. Take advantage of these. 

It's easy to become complacent and rely on the traditional summer beauty rituals to drive sales, but with some clever marketing, an engaged team and a focus on retail, you can boost your business and improve your bottom line. 

And most important: stay focused, summer product sales are too good an opportunity to miss!