Last minute gift buying season: Data reveals peak times for beauty and hair services gift cards

Digital gift cards are a top gift choice. Data collected by Book Salon from 2,500 salons shows customers buy gift cards for Mother's Day and Christmas – and most do not plan ahead, making their purchase within the last few days. 

London, UK (December 13th, 2022) –  Book Salon, a payment and booking service provider specializing in hair, beauty, and wellness companies, has data from more than 2,500 salons, showing that people mostly buy Christmas presents for hair and beauty treatments within the last four days before Christmas Eve. In total, salons sell more than five times more gift cards in December than in an average month. This insight is based on Book Salon’s gift card sales data.

Another clear spike in sales is in the days before Mother's Day, when almost twice as many gift cards are sold as in an average month. There is even a slight increase in gift card sales around Father’s Day. 

"By far, the biggest spike in gift card sales occurs four days before Christmas Eve. We are clearly leaving the Christmas gift shopping, at least if it's for beauty and wellness services, until the very last minute," says Book Salon CEO Harri Myllylä.

"A gift card is the perfect present because the recipient can decide what to use it for. Well-being treatments are often services that people don't spend money on, so it's great to see that we care about our loved ones by buying them quality time for themselves," Myllylä continues.

The times when gift cards had to be bought in person have passed, and web sales now contribute a significant amount of revenue to hair and beauty salons. With Book Salon's system, entrepreneurs can put gift cards on sale through their online store, giving everyone the opportunity to buy one, anywhere and at any time. Gift cards are also a good way for an entrepreneur to balance income, as quieter times are compensated with gift card sales spikes.

"Based on our data, we know that more than 60 percent of appointment bookings are made outside the opening hours of beauty and wellness salons. Therefore, it is safe to assume that most gift cards are also bought in the mornings or evenings, outside of the buyer's working day. The option to buy gifts online increases the sale of gift cards", Myllylä continues.

Jussi Ranta, owner of the Paradise Tattoo & Piercing shop, has also noticed the difference in the volume of gift card sales after taking his studio digital.

"We have always sold a lot of gift cards during the holidays, but since we started selling them digitally, we have sold even more. In addition, we see that more gift cards are bought throughout the year - just because they are available online," says Ranta.

The data used for this announcement is based on Book Salon's database, which includes more than 2,500 beauty and wellness salons. The data was extracted and analyzed on 22nd of November, 2022.