How a Popular US Beauty Salon Boomed in the Pandemic
Retail has always been a viable revenue stream but for various reasons, some spas refused to take advantage of it. Now with COVID-19 the industry is forced to take a second look. Vogue beauty editor Jessica Schiffer clues us in on Heyday Spa.
An online salon experience sounds counterintuitive at best, and impossible at worst. When the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns hit the US in March, the team behind facial salon chain Heyday had no choice but to try to build one.
With all 10 Heyday locations in New York and Los Angeles shut down indefinitely, the company relaunched its website, added a “Skin Quiz” that offers treatment and product recommendations, rebuilt the product landing page with filters more specific to customer goals, and incorporated tips from estheticians throughout the shopping experience. It also piloted one-on-one virtual skincare consultations and launched an Instagram video series spotlighting at-home facial techniques and skincare tips.
Since March, Heyday’s online sales have grown by 724 percent, with two-thirds of those sales coming from existing in-store clients and the rest from new customers.
“You win and build trust as a brand by being available at any time, from any place,” says Heyday co-founder and chief executive Adam Ross. The pandemic sped up the company’s goal to offer accessible online skincare guidance, according to co-founder and chief experience officer Michael Pollak.
Others in the salon and spa industry are struggling to survive the pandemic.
Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Spa, which was founded in 1910 and attempted a millennial-friendly rebrand in late 2019 under the new name Mynd, closed all 27 of its locations in late March and filed for bankruptcy.
The pandemic’s wake-up call for the salon and spa industry is one that experts say was sorely needed and expect it to have a lasting effect on the category and how it approaches business.
All brands across the board are now expected to ramp up their digital investments in the wake of Covid-19, representing a turning point for an industry that once existed primarily offline.
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Linda Harding-Bond
