How to Implement eCommerce Strategy for Your Salon Business

Online shopping options have popped up in virtually every industry and the beauty salon industry is no exception.

If you disagree, just think about how many times you have ordered something online in the last year. More importantly, why did you make those purchases online instead of brick-and-mortar stores?

Was it because of convenience? competitive pricing? Or was it both?

Whatever the reason may be, the reality is that we live in an era where there are options for instant gratification for almost everything.

And throw a global pandemic into the mix and you’ll understand that people now not only shop online due to its convenience or competitive pricing but also because it allows them to be away from the public.

The lesson here is: There has never been a need for an eCommerce strategy among salon businesses.

In fact, even though the lion’s share of the beauty salon products is still being purchased from brick-and-mortar stores, that’s going to change in the near future.

According to a forecast report, the online sales of beauty salon products will account for up to 48% by 2023.

Plus, there are countless other reasons to open an eCommerce store for your Salon business.

But considering the essence of time, we’ll quickly go through the key reasons why you need to consider launching an eCommerce store for your salon business.

Why Launch an eCommerce Store for Your Salon Business

Nowadays, it’s vital for any salon business to connect with its customers via the eCommerce channel.

Having a healthy eCommerce presence cannot only help your salon business survive during times of strife. But it can also help to create an alternate source of income for your salon business.

The lockdown restrictions led by the COVID-19 Pandemic (combined with revenue losses during closure periods) have already made it kind of necessary to create an alternate stream of revenue. 

And even though lockdown restrictions have been lifted and your salon has finally reopened, you know for a fact that not every one of your previous customers has started coming back.

This is the number one reason why you should launch an eCommerce store for your salon business.

Plus, having an eCommerce store has many other benefits as described below:

• An eCommerce store helps to scale the overall revenue of the business
• Your customers are already shopping online now more than ever
• It’s really simple to launch an eCommerce store these days

Now, if you’re worried about whether people will buy from your eCommerce store instead of Amazon or not, a recent study has already found that 40% of people are more interested in shopping from local options to support small businesses.

All in all, launching an eCommerce store for your salon business offers many benefits and is also absolutely critical to remain competitive in the market.

But if you’re not sure how to get started, we’ve already compiled a list of steps you can follow to create your eCommerce store and start enjoying all the benefits it offers.

5 Steps For Implementing eCommerce Strategy in Your Salon Business

If your salon business doesn’t have an eCommerce store yet, here’s how you can go about building one.

Step #1 – Choose a Platform to Build Your eCommerce Store

If you’ve finally decided to build an eCommerce store for your salon business but don’t have a lot of time to tinker around with the tech stuff, there is no need to get worried.

Thanks to rapid advancements in technologies, today there are various kinds of eCommerce website builders available to start your eCommerce store journey.

In fact, these tools are designed in such a way that you can easily set up your eCommerce store using the built-in drag and drop feature, and start selling your products in no time!

However, when picking the eCommerce builder platform, keep in mind that eCommerce sites are generally a little expensive to build & maintain. Plus, the whole point of launching an eCommerce store is to generate revenue.

So, make sure you’re not overspending on the development & maintenance by choosing the wrong platform in the first place.

Step #2 – Start Small

When starting your eCommerce journey, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by trying to create a super fancy but complicated online store. So, for the sake of simplicity, just start small and ditch all the ‘nice-to-have’ bells and whistles to keep development as well as maintenance costs to a minimum.

Doing so will help to curb down your cash flow difficulties, which is extremely helpful during the initial years. Plus, all the money saved can be invested elsewhere, such as in the marketing aspect of your eCommerce store.

Step #3 – Do Smart Marketing

Staying on top of customers’ minds is undoubtedly an arduous task for independent salon business owners. The competition in the salon space is rising rapidly. And so is the need to gain customers’ loyalty.

Fortunately, it is still possible for salon businesses to attract their target audience online through a smart marketing game plan.

A smart marketing strategy can help you spread brand awareness, create hype about your brand new online store, and capture the attention of your target customers altogether.

That said, if you’re wondering what a smart marketing strategy consists of, here are some common tactics to help you get started:

• Initiate email marketing campaigns
• Start blogging & content marketing
• Be hyper-active on social media
• Launch a referral program
• Build an active community

Step #4 – Take Care of the Delivery Aspect

The delivery aspect of eCommerce has always been quite a hassle, especially for first-time eCommerce store owners.

If you’re planning to sell products locally, the delivery aspect can be easily manageable.

In fact, you should even consider offering free shipping above a certain order total amount. It will definitely attract more customers and help to increase the average order value in your eCommerce store.

On the other hand, if you’re going to sell your products internationally, it’s best to partner with a reliable air freight service provider who can handle the entire delivery aspect for you.

Plus, there are many perks of taking this route. For starters, you’re relieved from the responsibility of stocking, warehousing, packaging, and delivery aspects of your orders, which is a huge weight lift off your shoulders.

In turn, you’ll be able to direct more of your focus on increasing sales and growing the overall revenue of your Salon eCommerce store.

Step #5 – Offer Multiple Payment Options

Customer experience is a crucial factor for any eCommerce store. One of the proven ways to ensure the best customer experience is by giving customers flexibility over how they want to pay for their orders.

In other words, you must provide your customers with multiple payment options. Ever since the pandemic, almost everyone is already avoiding the cash on delivery method and prefers cashless payments.

Moreover, by accepting multiple payment methods, you’re more likely to meet each customer’s preferred payment method, resulting in a sense of convenience that all online shoppers appreciate these days.

Summary

If you’re still afraid to launch an eCommerce store for your salon business, know that the most important step of any eCommerce journey is to just start.

Follow the above steps and start executing one step at a time.

Remember, done is always better than perfect and you can always make adjustments to your eCommerce store based on customers’ feedback.