Mike Anderson points out in his blog that for every article saying people are being frugal there is another one stating that spending is on the rebound. I agree with him that people are cutting back on low priority items. It seems like people want to buy but feel like they are saving money when doing so, that’s why the buzzword at the moment is value.
It is interesting to tie this into the spa industry which is reporting growth although slow.
As reported in the Coyle Spa Sentiment spa-goers are also looking for value. Spa-goers found the following provided the most value to their overall spa experience (participants were allowed 3 choices out of 9 options).
1. Bargain/discounted price (66%)
2. Spa-day package (57%)
3. All inclusive add-on at a resort (43%)
4. Non prime-time discount (42%)
Often spa’s like to give the guest a takeaway to entice them to come in or return but only 13% of spa goers reported that retail samples provided good value. Eighty one percent of spa goers said a discount card would encourage them to try a new spa. The Spa Sentiment survey found that spa-goers are using technology to find these discounts with 71% looking online and 59% looking to emails. Print media scored significantly lower: magazines (35%) and newspapers (25%).
Spa owners and managers should be asking their own guests what they would consider a value and look to incorporate these add-ons to their marketing, especially their online marketing.
Read Mike Anderson’s blog here.
Read the SpaTrade article here.
Read the Coyle Spa Sentiment report here.
