Square Data Shows Beauty Industry Recovery as Gross Payment Volume Rises 121% Year-over-Year
08 July 2021 - 3:00AM
Business Wire
Square, a vital partner to beauty and personal
care businesses, offering seamless tools to fuel reopening
Following a difficult year, the beauty industry is showing
strong signs of recovery as beauty and personal care businesses
have reopened for in-person operations. Data from Square shows that
gross payment volume and appointment bookings now exceed pre-COVID
levels to meet surging consumer demand in a demonstration of
incredible resilience.
Due to periods of social distancing and shelter in place orders
over the past year, beauty businesses experienced major shifts that
required them to pivot in order to continue operating. Businesses
adapted and stayed connected with clients in new ways like selling
products online, reconfiguring their salons for social distancing,
offering virtual consultations, selling at-home beauty kits, and
using customer relationship management (CRM) tools to better target
customers through marketing campaigns.
"Once we had to shut down all operations due to state mandates,
our primary goal shifted to continuing engagement via virtual
consultations and online sales," said Bryan Munshower, COO of
Beauty Marx Aesthetic MedSpa in Doylestown, PA. “We created simple,
customized bundles for clients for various needs and made them
available for purchase online. Demand has returned and we’re seeing
clients are ready to get back out and spend.”
The state of the beauty industry
Despite challenges over the past year, the beauty industry
pivoted quickly and is now demonstrating strength with business
flourishing. Square Appointments data shows that completed
reservations at beauty and personal care businesses are now above
pre-pandemic levels, up 81% from February 2020 to May 2021, and up
156% year-over-year as of May 2021.
Hiring has also returned to keep up with demand as the number of
employees paid per beauty and personal care business in April 2021
was up 34% year-over-year and up nearly 16% year-over-year in May
2021.
Gross payment volume from beauty and personal care businesses
has also improved, with a 121% year-over-year increase as of May
2021, and 25% from February 2020 to May 2021 - showcasing continued
strength across the industry.
New beauty trends emerged
With consumers returning to beauty and personal care businesses
in full force, clients are fueling recovery by taking this time to
test rising beauty services that gained traction during COVID.
Among those, the following saw increased demand from May 2020 to
May 2021: body contouring (363% increase), eyelash extensions (283%
increase), lip mask (238% increase), nail art (221% increase), and
hybrid eyelashes (214% increase).
Square Appointments aids in business recovery
Square Appointments recently marked its 200,000,000th booking in
the first half of 2021. As the all-in-one scheduling POS software
for beauty and personal care, Square Appointments enabled
businesses to be nimble and quickly adapt, ultimately helping them
rebound from the pandemic.
"2020 was extremely hard for many reasons and we had to
completely reimagine how to navigate so many things, and most of
all how to communicate and set expectations with clients," said
Jessica Heckman, Owner of The Beautiful Co. Salon in Greenville,
SC. "The client experience has always been at the center of our
business and Square Appointments is a premium part of that
experience since it enabled us to clearly communicate with our
clients during COVID so they understood what was going on.”
From Q1 2020 to Q1 2021, businesses using Square Appointments
saw an average 23% decrease in booking no-shows and 63% increase in
completed reservations, helping businesses keep their calendars
booked for maximized sales during a time when they needed it most.
Square Appointments’ monthly active users also grew 85%
year-over-year as of May 2021. During that same period, nearly half
of merchants onboarded to Square Appointments were new to Square as
beauty and personal care businesses continued to turn to the POS
solution for its ability to prepare and meet their needs.
Beyond its booking capabilities, beauty and personal care
businesses use Square Appointments to not only sell services, but
also physical goods to boost total order value and profit. By
integrating both retail and services, Square Appointments saw
roughly a 45% year-over-year increase in businesses selling retail
products as of May 2021.
“This past year has tested beauty and personal care businesses
and required them to rethink how they operate and interact with
clients,” said Alyssa Henry, Executive Vice President, Square.
“Merchants in this industry need robust solutions that enable them
to grow their presence in an already competitive market. We’re
continuing to build advanced features for Square Appointments that
set the standard for what the beauty industry needs and expects
from their POS provider.”
To further equip beauty and personal care merchants to
future-proof and grow, Square Appointments recently released
modern, seamless features that benefit businesses and their
clients:
- Square Online: Merchants can now create an integrated,
customizable website to match the aesthetic of their business and
sell their products and services online for omnichannel
capabilities. Square Online saw a sizable increase in sign-ups from
beauty and personal care businesses, up 296% year-to-date from
January 2021 to May 2021.
- Commissions: Businesses can now set commission rates for
retail items and services that are automatically uploaded to Square
Payroll, removing manual work and saving merchants time.
- Gap time: Clients can book services during appointment
downtimes right from a businesses’ website, streamlining bookings
and helping merchants make more money.
To learn more about what your business can do with Square
Appointments, visit here.
About Square, Inc.
Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is a technology and financial services
company that offers software, hardware, and financial tools to
empower businesses and individuals to participate in the economy.
Sellers use Square to reach buyers across online and in-person so
they can start, run, grow, and adapt their business. Square has
offices in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Ireland,
Spain and the UK.
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