With the summer months now firmly behind us (where has this year gone?), salons should be well into their autumn campaigns and Christmas promotions, no doubt many offering a variation of topping up the summer tan and getting ready for the Party Season. I love this time of year! For many, this point in the year is also a great time to take stock of the trading figures from the main Tanning Season and set in place plans for any maintenance, upgrades and additions to the salon going forward.
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That will all, no doubt, sound very familiar as the usual turning of the tanning salon trading cycle. However, salons this side of the pond have a rather unusual experience to manage right now. This is the result of a challenging few months for salons with most of Europe having experienced one of the hottest summers on record – clearly, not ideal trading conditions for our industry. Over the summer months, we experienced a distinct drop in orders for consumables and lotions based on 2017 figures, and we heard many stories of salons that were forced to reduce their trading hours, or even shut down completely as their ventilation systems struggled to cope with the searing heat.
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But as quickly as summer came, it went. And what we are seeing now is the resilience of our operators coming into play with a significant surge in salon marketing and promotions targeted on delivering a much-needed boost to the summer trading figures. And the good news is, the consumer is responding favourably.
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I believe there is great opportunity to influence the psyche of a greater number of consumers to desire, and ergo, seek out a year-round tan.
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Having been in this wonderful industry for over 30 years, I have probably experienced every possible permutation of trading conditions. I am pleased that we have come so far from the “cottage industry” of the past and the days of making a quick buck in the tanning business are long gone, with our industry now more professional than ever. So, challenging trading conditions simply become another hurdle to overcome backed up with good management, a great product at the right price point, some smart marketing and probably – the cherry on top – fantastic customer care.
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Our industry offers a year-round tanning option and without doubt, we know that people love to tan. So, it has always baffled me that our busiest time of year is over the summer months when it’s likely that consumers can tan outdoors, too. Of course, I understand the parochial reasons why this may generally be the case; but equally, I believe there is a great opportunity for our industry to influence the psyche of a greater number of consumers to desire, and ergo, seek out a year-round tan.
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Let me be clear: I am not advocating extreme tanning in any form. I am 100 percent committed to responsible tanning. But, given that in the UK, the average indoor tanner takes less than 20 sessions a year, and the annual exposure limit exampled in the European Standard mathematically equates to circa 60 sessions, it’s clear to see there is plenty of potential to boost salon footfall from an existing customer base.
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This is not something that could be achieved overnight, and there would, no doubt, need to be some additional thinking on the marketing side. But, if operators could focus efforts to achieve even a 20 percent increase on the average of 20 sessions per annum, that would surely make a healthy difference to their bottom lines.
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