No-shows cost the UK salon industry almost £2m per day in lost revenue, and Berkshire, West Midlands and East Yorkshire are the worst offenders for skipping out on salon bookings since the end of lockdown. 

Lost Revenue 

When hairdressers and beauty salons opened their doors across the UK in April after many long months without haircuts, highlight touch-ups or beauty treatments, the nation’s attention turned to booking appointments at their local salons, with many joining waiting lists for appointments at multiple salons. BUT according to data from Phorest Salon Software, since salons reopened in April, a national average of 5% of people haven’t shown up for their appointments without giving any notice, costing the salon industry an estimated €1,975,664 every day in lost revenue.

Costing Thousands

Ronan Perceval, CEO of Phorest Salon Software said: “Much has been made throughout lockdown about supporting local businesses, but it’s important to remember that many salon owners, already struggling with reduced capacity due to social distancing measures, are left with empty seats and an opportunity cost of thousands of euro when people book appointments and don’t show up.”

Worst Counties 

Phorest found that Berkshire was the worst, with 9.4% of people not showing up for appointments, followed by West Midlands (8.7%) and East Yorkshire (8.6%).

Worst 20 Regions

• Berkshire 9.4%
• West Midlands 8.7%
• East Yorkshire 8.6%
• South Yorkshire 8.1%
• Greater Manchester 7.9%
• Glamorgan 6.4%
• Lancashire 6.1%
• Cheshire 6.0%
• Greater London 5.9%
• Merseyside 5.9%
• Aberdeenshire 5.7%
• West Yorkshire 5.6%
• Edinburgh 5.5%
• Glasgow City 5.4%
• North Yorkshire 5.0%
• Hertfordshire 4.7%
• Dorset 4.3%
• Kent 4.1%
• Cumbria 4.1%
• Essex 4.1%

Larger Deposits

“Since the end of the latest lockdown we have armed salons using our software with the ability to charge larger deposits upfront when taking online bookings, which should help to deter people from making bookings at multiple salons and not showing up for appointments. For salons using this feature, it has helped to reduce their no-show rate by 47%.” Mr Perceval said.

Software Feature

Phorest’s new variable deposits feature allows salon owners to automatically charge higher upfront deposits for higher risk clients, such as new clients or those who have been no-shows in the past, as well as for services with higher outlay costs.

More information on Phorest’s online booking and variable deposit features can be found at here.