Now that the beauty salon business has started in a controlled environment and adhering to strict safety protocols, customers are gearing up for the new normal.Big surge in demand for services in the men’s grooming category spanning, not just metro cities such as Delhi but Tier 2 cities as well! Urban Company has witnessed a 5 times increase in the men’s grooming category since April 1, indicating a 250% increase in the Spa and Massage category. The company confirmed to The Financial Express Online that there has been a significant 5 fold increase in the men’s grooming category since April 1, with spa and massage services being pegged as the most popular category right now.
Mukund Kulashekaran, SVP, Urban Company told The Financial Express Online, “Although most people are still confining themselves to their homes, the need to be relaxed and well groomed at all times remains unchanged. Given the locking working hours, rising stress and anxiety, people prefer to be indoors even to unwind. As a result, Urban Company has now witnessed a 250% rise in requests for massage services during the past few months.”
He adds, “The maximum requests for groom in the men’s category have come from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. There has also been sharp spurt in bookings from tier 2 cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Visakhapatnam. We have noticed that 22 per cent bookings are from females seeking services on behalf of men.”
Over the last few years, trends indicate that Indians have been spending much more on beauty related services than ever before and this was expected to double in the coming five years. This trend has been most notable among Indian men as several reports had earlier pointed this out.
No doubt, India’s booming beauty business took a serious hit when the Coronavirus pandemic struck the way it did in 2020. While human behavior and interactions have been forced to change following the outbreak, the demand for beauty services have witnessed a whopping uptick.
Notably, the uptick in demand with regard to the men’s grooming category since April 1 has benefited several entities in the beauty and personal care segment.
Given the problem of maintaining the strictest standards of hygiene, several reports had earlier pegged that the Indian beauty salon industry had been estimated to be around Rs.10,000 crores before the pandemic struck. It is also estimated that the salon and spa business together account for 31% of the total size of the beauty and wellness market.
Due to the lockdown, beauty salons were closed and have only just opened. In most neighbourhoods, it is still not fully reopening. Several branded and well known spas are yet to start functioning or are not seeing the same pre-Covid level of business as usual.
Now that the beauty salon business has started in a controlled environment and adhering to strict safety protocols, customers are gearing up for the new normal.
New methods of working and interacting with customers have been put in place. Touch is inevitable for beauty treatments such as facials, massage, threading, waxing, and so on. However, all salons are mandated to follow strict protocols to instill confidence in customers. While footfalls at beauty parlours are pegged to be down by 40% to 50%, there is
According to Mukund Kulashekaran, SVP, Urban Company, “One in every five users requested a massage service at home in the last two months itself. Whereas a majority of bookings are for haircuts, the demand for head-and-shoulder massage alongside shaving and beard trimming have also increased. The convenience of staying at home has led to this recent surge in demand for the massage and salon categories. Therefore, in the upcoming months, we expect more demand.”
Clearly, as more people continue to stay at home, the demand for salon services in the safety of their houses is expected to increase in the coming months.
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