Next-Level Retail
Offer your clients more than just skin care products
by Lauren SnowCONSUMERS OF BEAUTY AND WELLNESS are on a mission to look and feel their best by embodying a healthconscious lifestyle. What that means to each person may vary, but knowing your clientele and their motivations can help you bring in more profits from products beyond just skin care. Why? Because chances are, if your beautyand wellness-obsessed clients aren’t buying those complementary products from you, they’re buying them from someone else.
It’s no secret Americans, especially women, spend a large amount of money per year on health and beauty products. According to Byrdie, the average woman in the US spends up to $3,756 on beauty products each year, which comes out to about $313 a month.1 With this spending in mind, the global beauty industry is estimated to hit $716.6 billion by 2025.2
A retail area with skin care products and boutique-type items can contribute positively to your monthly revenue and boost your average ticket sale—just by being in the right place at the right time.
Retail products can (and should!) be about 30–50 percent of your net profit. Sometimes estheticians struggle
with retail because they don’t want to feel pushy, but becoming a good salesperson and strategic stockist is one of the quickest ways to increase your income. When you buy wholesale retail products, your profit margin can easily be 50–60 percent or more, depending on the items you sell and how you price them.
DESTINATION SPAS
Resort spas are often referred to as “destination spas” because they are the ultimate destination for all things wellness and beauty. Their goal is to provide everything you could ever dream of. You’ll notice the carefully curated shelves sell not only skin care products but also body care, makeup, clothing, jewelry, aromatherapy, candles, and trinkets that align with their vision of whole-body beauty, health, and wellness. This is because women prefer to spend money on beauty rituals and experiences, as opposed to simple products.3
That’s not to say you must take out a separate lease for an adjoining unit to accommodate an expansive retail space to get in on the boutique action. It’s about making a thoughtful selection of items that are a natural extension
of your spa services—items you know your clients will like for themselves or be inclined to give as gifts to others.
GOTTA BE GIFTABLE
Some of the best-selling products are giftable. Small, easy-togift items like makeup brushes and bags, candles, necklaces, and body lotions can be turned into “impulse purchases” by being displayed at the checkout counter for a quick look-feelsmell assessment by the client while you’re tallying up their bill. Simply lighting a candle you have for sale can trigger purchases once clients swoon over the scent.
Other items you use in the treatment rooms, such as robes or wraps, aromatherapy, and at-home devices like MySkinBuddy or gua sha stones, can also do well because you can educate the client about these tools while they’re experiencing them in the treatment room.
PRICE IT PERFECTLY
When you’re shopping for wholesale items and find something you think your clients will like, ask yourself, “What will my
robe to put on while using your products? Reynosa calls this “completing the experience of self-care.”
SHOP SMALL, SHOP SMART
You’ll also want to choose items that aren’t available at big box stores or found along drugstore beauty aisles. These items should be unique and tailored to your clientele’s demographic. It can also be mutually beneficial to support other local small businesses that make these items.
If you grow your retail selection wisely, you could end up selling to customers who usually wouldn’t come in for your facial services but are eager to stop by to pick up a few boutique items.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
Adding new retail items can cause some headaches when it comes to inventory management and storage, so start small, pay attention to manufacturers’ minimum purchase requirements (you don’t want to end up with thousands of dollars of unsellable products collecting dust), and make sure you’re ready to take
customer pay for this?” Once you’ve decided on a price, look at the wholesale price. If it’s justifiable and can offer you a good return on investment (ROI), you’re good to go! Remember, your profit margin should be 30–50 percent on these items.
Elisha Reynosa, a California-based esthetician and owner of Maven Skin + Beauty, has successfully incorporated a small retail boutique into her busy skin care business. While skin care products continue to be her primary retail income, Reynosa says, “Sugar scrubs, body lotions, dry brushes, masks, lip balms, and aromatic candles are client favorites.”
When asked what advice she has for those wanting to incorporate more boutique items, Reynosa says, “Figure out what your clients like or need, and ask yourself if they can’t find these items anywhere else in town.” Her philosophy has been to offer unique but helpful items that will enhance clients’ lives. She thinks of items from a lifestyle perspective. You offer the best in skin care, so why not offer them the best headband and
on the new challenge. Create a plan for tracking items so you can easily identify the items that sell well, know which vendors you enjoy working with, and learn more about your clients’ purchasing habits.
Notes
1. Kaitlyn McLintock, “The Average Cost of Beauty Maintenance Could Put You Through Harvard,” Byrdie, updated January 31, 2022, www.byrdie.com/average-cost-of-beauty-maintenance.
2. Cision PR Newswire, “Beauty & Personal Care Products Market Worth $716.6 Billion by 2025: Grand View Research, Inc.,” November 22, 2018, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beauty-amp-personal-care-productsmarket-worth-716-6-billion-by-2025-grand-view-research-inc--835085428.html.
3. Kaitlyn McLintock, “The Average Cost of Beauty Maintenance Could Put You Through Harvard.”
