By: Connor Hixson, AMSCO Medical

The medical spa industry can be an incredibly competitive space, especially for new locations or facilities just getting started. While the world of aesthetics and beauty treatment can be challenging to compete in, boosting retail sales can significantly impact your overall revenue and profitability while allowing your med spa to build a consistent base of loyal customers who continue to come back for more. Using an effective retail strategy can not only attract new customers but also increase the amount your existing clients spend with you. As critical as retail sales are to the bottom line of any aesthetic center or med spa, they are often overlooked or underutilized as an avenue of building a bigger book of business. While this may sound great on paper, the question you may be asking yourself is "How do I actually accomplish this?" The answer? Superior products, knowledge and utilizing your spa's unique marketing channels.

Benefits of Offering Retail Products

Offering retail products in your medical spa can be a great way to supplement your facility's sales goals. In fact, according to Dr. Lisa Jenks, founder of Genesis Consulting, a consulting firm specializing in med spas, "Retail sales should account for anywhere between 20% to 40% of a medical spa's revenue." While only about 50% of that may fall to the bottom line, the benefits of pushing retail products in your facility are that it doesn't require large amounts of time from your staff, there is no equipment cost, and it doesn't consume that much space. Offering your clients retail products is more than simply another avenue for increased sales. A common mistake made far too often is seeing retail sales and the sales of services provided as separate entities when, in reality, they are one and the same. Business consultant and brand enrichment specialist, Patti Biro, founder of Patti Biro Associates, states that, "Not offering a retail product recommendation means you have not finished delivering the service. You can't separate retail product recommendations from the service; it's part of the service." Pairing retail products with your services will increase their effectiveness and prolong results while also increasing the likelihood of a client returning for further treatments as they see improved results that tend to last longer.

So what separates a good retail sales strategy from a bad one? The answer lies in these key factors:

Product Relevancy

While this may seem like an obvious first step, ensuring your spa is offering products that connect with your clients’ needs may not always be simple. Since every client has their own unique needs and attributes, they're looking for in any skincare product, simply choosing the biggest name brands won't do the trick. A great strategy to choosing the correct brands and types of products to sell within your spa space is to conduct market research by surveying your clients to discover their most common issues, preferences, and needs. This could be accomplished with physical paper surveys you sent out to new clients or even sending out digital surveys via email. Analyzing which of your services are requested or purchased the most may also be a great way to conduct this research without having to directly ask clients about what they're looking for. Once you've pinpointed some of the most common needs amongst clients, you can create a more specific selection of products that complement your spa's most popular services, thus creating more value for any current and future customers.

Retail Subscriptions

Offering your clients subscriptions to their favorite products is another great avenue you can take to boost your sales while also improving your client's skin health. Allowing clients to start a subscription to their favorite products at your spa ensures they can maintain a successful skincare routine at home between treatments and builds a sense of loyalty to keep them coming back. In fact, some practitioners are already seeing results from this strategy. Dallas-based plastic surgeon A. Jay Burns, M.D., who is medical director at the EpiCentre Skin Care and Laser Center medspa, reports that "Launching a subscription membership for spa clients has been a game-changer. Subscriptions are fast becoming the norm and the way millennials purchase." Dr. Burns even noticed that her older, non-millennial patients love the convenience of this option and reported that within the first 15 months of implementing a retail subscription service, she was able to sign up over 500 members. Starting a subscription to your retail products also discourages clients from seeking out alternatives from big-box stores as they run out of whichever products they purchased at their last visit, thus helping your spa retain more of its sales.

Private Labeling

Like a retail subscription model, offering products under your spa's own private label line can be a great way to increase sales and build brand loyalty. Selling high quality products with your facility's branding that customers can only purchase directly from you increases the likelihood of them making you their exclusive skincare provider and prevents them from buying the same product elsewhere. In addition to increasing repeat sales, starting a private label skincare line can help you position your med spa to stand out from the competition and build a clear brand identity by customizing the packaging and look of your products to match your spa's unique style. Of course, fancy packaging won't completely carry a private label product line as there needs to be legitimate quality with it. In a recent survey by Statista, "52% of skin care consumers reported making decisions on quality alone, with 76% of those surveyed reporting they don't trust fancy marketing or flashy packaging." Essentially, the key point to stress when it comes to exploring private labeling as a potential sales strategy is to make sure the company you are working with is using proven high-end ingredients that will give your clients the best results. While unique packaging will help the product jump off the shelves, ensuring the quality is there to back up the packaging is vital to getting your clients hooked up your private label.

Product Knowledge

Ensuring your staff is well-versed in the benefits, features, and best uses of your retail products is one of the most vital keys to boosting your retail sales. While you may have a wide variety of skincare products on your shelves it won't make a difference if your staff doesn't have full expertise on each individual product and which skincare goals it can help achieve. A great way to address this is hosting regular training sessions to educate your team about ingredients, application, and benefits for all the products you currently offer and any new products you decide to bring in. The more informed your staff is on your retail offerings, the better equipped they will be to upsell the products on your shelf and make recommendations on which products pair the best with each service. In a survey conducted by Drive Research, a national market research company, "69% of women surveyed indicated that the ingredients used in their skincare products are important, providing a rating of 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale." However, only 21% of everyone surveyed reported knowing all the ingredients used in their skincare products. This highlights the importance of ensuring your staff has expertise on your product offerings to educate your clients on what is in their skincare and how it benefits them. With proper product training, your staff will be able to provide further value to your clientele by giving them the knowledge they need to purchase your products with confidence.

Utilizing Your Unique Marketing Channels

When it comes to boosting your med spa's retail sales, leveraging your brand’s unique attributes can be a great way to take your sales to the next level. Utilizing an online e-commerce strategy by selling your retail products on your med spa's website or partnering with established online marketplaces can help you reach a larger number of potential clients and entice your existing clients to make your facility their one-stop shop for all things cosmetic. Investing in SEO, pay-per-click ads, offering online exclusive discounts, and using your social media presence can all help drive more traffic to your website and ultimately encourage customers to shop for your skincare solutions digitally. While many spa facilities and aesthetic centers utilize these tools, many of them follow the same trends making it hard to stand out from the crowd. This is where local SEO and leveraging your social media can help you stand out. For example, when curating content for your spa's social media consider the things that make your area unique. This could mean relating to your audience by sponsoring local events, making content that specifically relates to the experience of living in your area, or even involving your regular clients in your social media posts.

While the medical spa industry remains a highly competitive space, focusing on these key factors can help your business grow while continuously providing value to your client base. Although the number of strategies and directions you can take may seem overwhelming, the key is to focus on what your clients respond to and what will ultimately benefit them. As skincare continues to become more of a staple in everyone's day-to-day lives, you want to ensure that your brand stands out the most by focusing on what makes you different, not the same as everyone else. Following these tips can help you ensure that your spa's retail products aren't seen simply as a cash grab, but rather a way for you to help them on their skincare journey.

AMSCO Medical is a medical distributor that sells all medical, surgical and laboratory equipment and supplies to medical spas, physician offices, surgery centers, laboratories and medical education facilities. It is a family-owned company that has been in business since 1985 and a leader in the Chicagoland medical spa supply industry since 2019. AMSCO Medical's distribution center is located south of Chicago, providing free shipping to local customers. AMSCO says that no customer is too small.

Works Cited:

Jenks, L. S. (2023, June 12). DOS and don’ts of Maximizing Retail. Skin Inc. https://www.skininc.com/business/retail/article/21879519/dos-and-donts-of-maximizing-retail

Opheim, T. (2023, September 7). 11 proven tips for boosting retail sales in Your Medical Spa Business: SPA Vision Medical Group. Spa Vision Financial. https://spavision.co/blogs/spafits-medical-spa-blog/11-proven-tips-for-boosting-retail-sales-in-your-medical-spa-business

14, J. (2019, January 16). The Med Spa Subscription model. theaestheticguide.com. https://www.theaestheticguide.com/practice-management/med-spa-subscription-model

Why you should add private label Skin care to your practice. MedEsthetics. (2023, March 14). https://www.medestheticsmag.com/business/practice-management/article/22766171/collagen-pin-why-you-should-add-private-label-skin-care-to-your-practice

Atagi Plastic Surgery & Skin Aesthetics. (2024, January 17). Beauty and brains: How to increase your skincare knowledge: Lone Tree, co - atagi plastic surgery & skin aesthetics. Atagi Plastic Surgery & Skin Aesthetics - Denver, CO Plastic Surgeon & Aesthetic Treatments. https://atagimd.com/cosmetic-procedures/beauty-and-brains-how-to-increase-your-skincare-knowledge/

Skincare statistics and trends in 2023. Full-Service Market Research Company. (n.d.). https://www.driveresearch.com/market-research-company-blog/skincare-statistics-and-trends/