This holiday season, you can grow your salon’s retail sales in six simple ways. Make product recommendations part of every service, and sell results instead of bottles. Decorate for the season, market beyond the salon, and run great seasonal promos. Then take your retail sales online. For simple, low-stress strategies built for the busiest weeks of your year- read on!
Why Are Salon Retail Sales Declining?
Today’s consumers are finding new, convenient ways to purchase products from the hair and beauty brands they love. Even though they go to their trusted salon for services, they often buy their hair care products online from big-box retailers. In fact, a recent Salon Today article citing the June 2026 KIM Report states that in-salon retail sales have dropped nearly 4% since mid 2025. So, why not meet your clients online, where they like to shop?
The holiday season offers the perfect opportunity to shape the client experience and make your salon, clinic, or spa the trusted source for their beauty needs, including retail. Here are 7 practical, stress-free strategies to help you influence your clients’ purchasing habits and boost your business’ revenue during the busiest time of the year.
How Are Top Salons Growing Their Retail Revenue?
1. Make Product Recommendations Part of the Experience
The best time to suggest products is while the client is in your chair. Don’t just apply the product—talk about it. Let them hold the bottle, read the label, and take in the scent. Explain why you’re using that specific product on them and how it benefits their needs. When you weave recommendations naturally into your service, they feel more like helpful advice rather than a sales pitch.
2. Focus on Benefits and Results, Not Just the Bottle
Stop selling the “what” and start explaining the “how.” Clients aren’t looking for a bottle of hairspray; they’re looking for frizz-free hair, long-lasting color, or a volume boost for their holiday party. When you paint a picture of the results and show them how to get those results, the product becomes the solution they need to achieve that look at home.
3. Create Festive In-Salon Displays
Your retail shelves are prime real estate, especially during the holidays. Transform your space by creating festive, eye-catching displays that stop clients in their tracks. Use seasonal decor, twinkling lights, and clear signage to highlight your best-selling holiday gift sets. A beautifully curated display looks professional and serves as a visual reminder for clients to pick up last-minute gifts while they’re already in the salon for their appointment.
4. Market Your Expertise Beyond the Salon
Don’t wait for your clients to walk through the door to highlight products. Use email, text, and social media marketing to educate your audience on what’s available. If manual marketing feels like too much, explore brand-sponsored email campaigns, which can help handle product education for you. When clients know what you have, they’re much more likely to add it to their shopping list.
5. Use Black Friday & Holiday Promos Strategically
The goal with promotions isn’t just to discount; it’s to offer value. Think strategically: pair gift cards with retail purchases, curate “Holiday Hair Rescue” bundles, or offer a “buy one, get another % off” deal. These tactics increase the average transaction value while giving your clients another reason to shop with you.
6. Leverage Your Stylist/Client Relationships
Your expertise and relationship with your clients are your business’ greatest competitive advantage. While big-box retailers offer some of the same products, they cannot replicate the trusted guidance of a stylist who truly knows a client’s needs. By reinforcing your commitment to their personalized experience, you deepen your bond and naturally encourage them to support your business as their preferred beauty destination.
This holiday season, lean into your stylist/client connection. Whether you’re highlighting specific holiday promotions on Small Business Saturday or simply expressing gratitude for their year-round loyalty, remind your clients that when they choose to “shop small” and support their local salon, they are investing in the team they trust.
7. Extend Your Premium Experience Online
Meeting your clients where they are—online—is about more than just convenience; it’s about providing seamless, 24/7 access to your professional guidance. By offering an online store, you ensure your clients have the right tools to maintain their look, whether they’re stocking up on essentials between appointments or finding the perfect holiday gift. Your online store, coupled with product recommendations, is an effortless way to keep your expertise at their fingertips, reinforcing your business as their trusted destination for beauty long after they’ve left your chair.
What Are The Benefits of an Online Store?
An online store extends your retail shelf beyond your four walls — and beyond your business hours. Clients can reorder the products they love at 11 pm, buy the gift set they meant to grab on their way out, or shop your recommendations between appointments. For the business, it means retail revenue that isn’t capped by floor space, stock on hand, or how much cash you have tied up in inventory.
That last part is usually what stops salons from selling more retail, and is where SalonInteractive, a proud partner of Phorest, comes in. SalonInteractive is an online store and marketing service built for the professional beauty industry, and it works a little differently than a typical webshop. Your store connects directly to your local beauty supplier’s product catalog, meaning you can choose from 500+ professional brands without buying or storing any of them in your physical location. When a client places an order, your supplier ships it straight to their door. You earn commission on the sale, and nothing about your day changes.
Recommending products is simple, too. Pick a client, choose individual products or a bundle, add a discount if you like, and hit send. When they click the link, everything you picked is waiting for them, just a few taps from checkout.
There’s also On Behalf Marketing, a SalonInteractive feature that sends brand-sponsored retail email campaigns to your clients in your salon’s name. The brands create and fund the campaigns. SalonInteractive sends them on your behalf. You keep the revenue, and your clients keep hearing from you.
On average, salons earn $233 in sales per retail OBM campaign, with zero work on their end.
Phorest user Blake Reed Evans puts it best: “Emails are automatically sent to my clients… making this the most passive way to make income in my salon.”
Your Expertise, Wherever Your Clients Shop
The holiday season is the perfect time to deepen your client relationships. By offering a convenient, premium, online shopping experience, you ensure that your expert guidance follows your clients home. It’s a simple way to protect the integrity of the professional experience you provide while offering the effortless convenience your clients value.
Ready to elevate your retail strategy? Learn more about how Phorest & SalonInteractive work together, or sign up here to launch your SalonInteractive store in minutes and bring your expert recommendations directly to your clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much have salon retail sales dropped recently?
What’s the easiest way to increase salon retail sales over the holidays?
Do I need to carry inventory to sell products online?
How many brands can I sell through a SalonInteractive store?
Does SalonInteractive work with Phorest?
