^{CHAPTER TWO:}
Can Technology Grow Your Beauty Business? All Trends Point To Yes

Our Most Compelling Data:

40%

of beauty leaders said they use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to analyze their businesses.

More than half

of consumers said they liked interacting with four core beauty industry technologies: automated appointment reminders (62%), mobile apps (59%), automated payments (56%), and automated appointment scheduling (52%).

Beauty businesses are starting to test new tech but have a long way to go

When your specialty is giving a hot stone massage, your first thought while reviewing your appointments in the morning probably isn’t, “How will AI help me fix my client’s shoulder?”

We get it. And while that’s fair, more beauty businesses are turning to technology like automation and AI to run the parts of the business that go beyond their specialties. In fact, more than a third of survey takers said they’re already using automation in their businesses to save time in eight different areas, with the average beauty leader using the technology in more than three areas.

Beauty businesses are buying into technology most on the marketing front. Forty-three percent said they use automation to help with email marketing, while 42% said they’re trying out AI-generated social media posts. Technology is boosting salon and spa operations too, with 40% of businesses using AI to analyze business reports and 35% using it to automate staff scheduling.

No matter how you slice it, beauty businesses are experimenting. Ninety percent of leaders said they hope to invest in business-boosting tech to some extent in all 11 areas we listed – from marketing and appointment-setting to tracking orders and taking payments.

Key takeaway:

You don’t need to be a technology expert, but sitting on the sidelines while other businesses embrace technology that their customers appreciate will cost you time — and perhaps a chunk of your customer base — in the long run. Ask your friends in the business what they’re doing, then pick one technology you’re comfortable with trying and start experimenting.

Pro tip:

When you’re ready to think about the bigger picture, look to invest in an integrated system that manages multiple parts of your business, from marketing and loyalty to appointment scheduling and payments. These all-in-one services are critical for beauty business owners who want to boost their business performance.

Knowing your customers: Technology is a must for Gen Z and millennials, but resistance starts at Gen X

Broadly speaking, beauty consumers want specialists to use the latest technology to talk to them, to book appointments, and to process their payments.

But when we take a closer look, opinions start to divide as clients get older.

Question after question showed that Gen Z and millennial consumers are far more likely to engage with what have become fairly common technologies at beauty businesses — mobile apps, automated appointment scheduling, automated payments — than their Gen X and baby boomer counterparts. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, beauty pros can use this knowledge to position their businesses for the broader community. For instance, if residents in your area skew older, it’s likely not the time to shift to an online-only booking system. Nor is it the time to consider other technology-first moves, such as going cashless. On the other hand, if you haven’t served a client under the age of 50 in six months, you can feel more comfortable going all in on time-saving tech.

Key takeaway:

Online bookings and mobile app interactions are only going to grow in popularity. However, thinking about your clients’ comfort with technology, whether with a data analysis of how you book appointments and get paid, or with a poll that gauges your best clients’ booking, messaging, and payment preferences, can help you decide how many tech integrations your business needs.

Technology

Consumer sentiment

Customer engagement

Mobile apps

18-43
years old

44 years
old & older

18-43
years old

44 years
old & older

_^75%

said they like to use
beauty salon or spa
mobile apps

_^49%

said they like to use
beauty salon or spa
mobile apps

_^73%

were likely to use or engage
with a mobile app from a beauty
salon or spa

_^50%

were likely to use or engage
with a mobile app from a beauty salon or spa

Automated

appointment scheduling

_^66%

said they like to use
automated appointment scheduling at
beauty salons or spas

_^44%

said they like to use automated appointment scheduling at beauty salons or spas

_^69%

were likely to use or engage with automated appointment scheduling
from a beauty salon or spa

_^49%

were likely to use or engage with automated appointment scheduling from a beauty salon or spa

Automated payments

_^68%

said they like to use
automated payments at
beauty salons or spas

_^50%

said they like to use
automated payments at
beauty salons or spas

_^66%

were likely to use or engage
with automated payments at a
beauty salon or spa

_^44%

were likely to use or engage
with automated payments at a beauty salon or spa

Technology

Consumer sentiment

Customer engagement

Intentionally small. That’s the best way to describe Cosmetic Injectables by Christine at Canberra’s Kingston in Australia. Its founder, Christine Barber, started the business after she spent more than 20 years as a registered nurse within the plastic surgery specialty. She focuses on cosmetic and non-cosmetic offerings to treat a range of conditions, including migraine relief, jaw clenching, and excessive sweating. As the sole operator of her business, Christine relies on Square Appointments to help her manage more than 500 clients, giving her the ability to focus on her customers and grow her business.

Square Appointments looks after itself. Once you have your appointment options and durations entered, the patients are able to easily book and cancel at any time, day or night. Interestingly, many of my appointments are made after hours, when people have the time and means to make the online booking. This gives me time back to focus on my patients.”

Christine Barber, Owner of Cosmetic Injectables by Christine, in Kingston, Canberra, Australia

Once upon a time, Steel N Ink was about pen and paper. The Canada-based studio started as a seasonal piercing location. Then in 2005 current owner Jamie Randolph bought and rebranded it, added tattoos to its offerings, and started growing the business’s storefronts. Today Steel N Ink has 15 locations in Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba, and offers upscale piercings and tattoos, along with body jewelry, tattoo care products, and clothing.

With more than 120 employees, including tattoo artists, body piercers, front desk staff, and back office staff, Randolph relies on Square Appointments to digitize workflows, to establish more control, and to create visibility into schedules across locations.

Once we added Square Appointments, it was like night and day. We went from pen and paper to digital bookings. Artists had access to their schedules, and they could check them remotely and look ahead at their week. Especially with multiple locations, and as we were growing, I couldn’t see all those paper appointment books at the same time. Now here I am, with a click of a button, I can see every store, every schedule.”

Jamie Randolph, Owner of Steel N Ink, Ontario and Winnipeg, Canada