Source: Aveda

For salon owners, the end of summer doesn’t just signify back-to-school haircuts. It’s also the time they start thinking about the busy holiday retail season, ordering extra inventory and creating holiday schedules.

Then, through the months of November and December, salons go into high gear with fully booked stylists and guests shopping for holiday gifts.

Allie Baker Salinas, owner of Spruce Salon in Austin, Texas, has developed a few strategies based on her guests’ preferences and her own experience. Here, she shares what has worked to keep her team retail-focused through the entire holiday season.

Team Prep

Like most owners, Baker Salinas orders her holiday gift sets in late summer, ensuring she gets the inventory she needs for November and December.

Source: Aveda

But first, Baker Salinas and her team have a staff meeting to strategize.

The team may decide lip shimmers are great for moms of teen girls, or candles are a good hostess gift.

“Everyone contributes, and we pay special attention to men, as they are harder to shop for,” she says. “We also make sure all our team members know the price points of each set, so they can give guests the perfect gift suggestion for whoever they’re shopping for.”

Yearly Charity Raffle

In addition to gift sets, Baker Salinas grabs her guests’ attention each year with a big basket of products she raffles off right before Thanksgiving.

“We all choose a product we want to feature in the basket—usually a best seller—and guests can enter by rounding up their ticket when they check out,” she says.

The funds from the raffle are donated to local charities and vary every year. This year, Baker Salinas says, it will probably go to help hurricane victims.

“We build excitement around the basket on our Facebook page and Instagram,” she says. “And then we draw the winner during an Instagram Live.”

Social Strategy

Baker Salinas discovered the power of live events during the holiday season of 2020 when guests weren’t coming into the salon due to the pandemic. She went on social media and sent out a newsletter letting all her guests know her team would be on Instagram Live, showing and telling about all the new holiday gift sets—and even giving away five sets. When the time came, about 70 guests were watching the live event.

“Three of us dressed up in ugly Christmas sweaters, and went through all our gift sets, showing guests what were in them, so they could order and do curbside pickup,” she says. “We also did a raffle, giving away sets to the people who answered our holiday trivia questions first.”

Now that guests are back to visiting the salon regularly, Baker Salinas says they prefer to come in and touch/see the gift set themselves, but she still uses Instagram Live and social media to educate guests about gift sets and special promotions.

“We have an older demographic, so sometimes we personally show our clients how to view Insta stories so they can see the raffles and last-minute openings we post,” she says.

In-Salon Celebrations

The month of November is special for Baker Salinas, because it marks her anniversary as the salon’s owner.

“So we always do something extra in November at our anniversary party,” she says. “I may do a discounted service for the guest, which also gets them excited about purchasing gift sets.”

The second week in December, Spruce hosts a sip-and-shop event where guests can enjoy a glass of champagne and stock up on last-minute gifts and stocking stuffers.

“In addition to gift sets, we purchase a lot of travel-size products so guests can design their own gift sets,” Baker Salinas says. “We buy festive tissue paper and cute little brown bags or small pouches to package the items in.”

Guests love the gift-wrapped, ready-to-go products, and often use the mini versions of larger products as gift toppers to the bigger-sized set.

“Sometimes we offer free travel sets when a guest spends a certain amount on gift sets as well,” Baker Salinas says.

Keeping Momentum

Baker Salinas knows how easy it is to get caught up in the daily grind of holiday chaos, so she incentivizes her team to stay focused on retail.

“Every week, we put the spotlight on a different gift set,” she says. “We look at the clients coming in that week, and choose a gift set we think will sell well. For example, if there are a lot of guests who have teenage daughters coming in, we may focus on Cherry Almond.”

Then Baker Salinas creates competitions around the chosen gift set. A favorite competition is offering gift cards to whoever sells a certain amount of the chosen gift set in a week.

“I will buy a bunch of gift cards from different places in a variety of prices,” she says. “Then anyone who sells the required amount gets to pull a gift card out of the hat.”

While Aveda candles and the Hand Relief trio remain guest favorites, Spruce guests also love the Phillip Lim-designed items.

“People loved the scarves, the scrunchies, the packaging—it was all high-end,” she says. “The partnership with Phillip Lim has been huge for us.”

As Baker Salinas prepares for another busy holiday season, she looks forward to helping all her guests find the perfect gift for their friends and family.

“We offer a personal shopping experience when we can ask guests who they’re shopping for and are able to suggest the perfect gift at the right price point.”