TECHNOLOGY

For a busy salon or spa owner, technology serves as an additional manager, automating systems and processes; communicating to and educating guests; measuring and motivating team members; and marketing to the community for new business.

[SALON]718
Brooklyn, NY
Michaella Blissett-Williams
SQUARE FEET: 510, 450, 500, 600, 500, 1200
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 103
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $88
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Davines, Goldwell, Mizani
COLOR: Goldwell, Wella, Davines
SKINCARE: Hydrafacial  
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Brook, DDS Goldwell By Clicks  
ASSOCIATIONS: ICA, ISBN, PBA    
“The funds saved through the implementation of new technologies, such as Brook and CLICS, allow us to create opportunities for further education. For example, we have an internal scholarship that we put toward sending our front desk employees to beauty school.”

A MOMENT'S PEACE SALON & SPA
Franklin, TN
Kip Dodson
SQUARE FEET: 6000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 63
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $70
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kerastase, Oribe, Nutrafol
COLOR: Schwarzkopf, Redken 
SKINCARE: Skinceuticals, Jan Marini 
NAIL CARE: OPI, CND 
TECH SUPPORT: Booker, Vish, Empowerlocal, Dodsonmc
“I’ve been building a tool that can help anyone in business understand how they look online when new people hear about them or go searching for them. I call it a Digital Basics Score. It’s a framework that grades how your business appears at this moment in time.”

APOTHECA LUX SALON
Austin, TX
Seffan Bentley
SQUARE FEET: 1750     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 9
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE :$99
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKINCARE: Aveda  
TECH SUPPORT: Aura, Vish  
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA  
“When I attended Data Driven last spring, I learned about Lift and Learn by Innovshop that plays product videos at random until a client picks up one of the products on display that has a sensor on it. Then three educational slides come up about that product,  a video of someone teaching the client how to use the product, and an interactive call to action. Clients purchasing retail is up 115%.”

DAVANTI SALON
Denton, TX
Tracee Herring, Melody Van Drunen, Kippin Fuller
SQUARE FEET: 2000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 19
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: 75
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
SKINCARE: Aveda, Cosmedix, Bomb Duo
TECH SUPPORT: Meevo, Texte,l Clickup, Mya, Vish, Optisigns
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA    
“Before AI, getting managers to consistently record conversations was an impossible task. Now, AI notetaking gives us a summary of the conversation, allows us to upload the notes, and has a full transcript embedded in the summary.”

IMPRESSIONS SALON
Mequon, WI
Sarah Taylor
SQUARE FEET: 4800     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 47
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $69
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kerastase, Davines, Pureology
COLOR: Redken, Davines 
SKINCARE: Eminence, Farmhouse Fresh, Bush Balm
NAIL CARE: OPI 
TECH SUPPORT: Meevo, Vish, Emma 
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA. Hair Has No Gender
“Meevo has a program called Emma, an email marketing tool that allows us to create and engage with all guests. We send out an email at the beginning of each month detailing our product and service specials, as well as new and exciting information happening in the salon.”

NUOVO SALON GROUP
Sarasota, FL
Terry McKee, James Amato
SQUARE FEET: 3300, 2700, 2700   
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 68
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $57
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKINCARE: Aveda  
NAIL CARE: Zoya, CND 
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Textel, Vish, Mya
ASSOCIATIONS: ICA, PBA, Green Circle
“Aspects of our culture needed to be more relevant, more relatable. From a technological perspective, we enlisted AI in the disruption of our reality. We uploaded multiple aspects of our culture into “Oscar” (Terry’s AI Assistant) and the results were insightful, enlightenin,g and aspirational!”

REFINED BEAUTY
Naperville, IL
Jennifer Alvarez
SQUARE FEET: 1500     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 8
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $60
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Davines  
COLOR: Davines  
SKINCARE: Comfort Zone  
TECH SUPPORT: Zenoti, Vish, Mya 
ASSOCIATIONS: CC, PBA    
“When you build an ecosystem where every tool talks to each other and supports both your clients and your team, that’s when you see real growth while saving time and the expense of physical labor. Technology is the way of the future. Might as well build something great for businesses with it!”

ROOT BEAUTY + WELLNESS
wauseon OH
Kate Gnagey, Ashley Kunesh, Dara Lavinder
SQUARE FEET: 3700     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 29
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $58
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kevin.Murphy, Alcove 
COLOR: Kevin.Murphy  
SKINCARE: Osmosis Beauty  
NAIL CARE: Luminary, Luxa,Magpie 
TECH SUPPORT: Vagaro, SalonScale  
“We created quizzes using Outgrow that allow our guests to find services that would benefit them. It’s integrated into our website’s marketing funnel and shared regularly on social media posts and stories.”

SALON EDEN
Baton Rouge LA
Mary Verlander
SQUARE FEET: 2800     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 25
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: 65
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe, Kevin.Murphy. JPMS
COLOR: JPMS, Redken 
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Vish, Salon Eden, Connect 
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA    
“A prominent conversation in the hair industry has revolved around the booking experience. Our solution was to write software entirely in-house with the idea of a perfect balance between the client's and stylist's needs while making the process pain-free for everyone.”

STUDIO WISH SALON SPA
Twinsburg OH
Rowena & Eric Yeager
SQUARE FEET: 4500     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $75
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kerastas,e Amika, Innersense
COLOR: Wella, Pulp Riot 
SKINCARE: Circadia  
NAIL CARE: OPI, DND 
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Mya, Vish 
ASSOCIATIONS:  ICA, PBA, Ohio Salon Connection, Green Circle
“We recently used ChatGPT to design an entire event that normally would have taken many meetings and brainstorming, all done in a few clicks, then we carried out the details. My ChatGPT ‘Trinity’ created an entire event for our 24th anniversary party.”

VARUNA AVEDA SALON SPA
Annapolis, MD
Rebecca & Riccardo Santoro
SQUARE FEET: 4000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 25
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $60
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda, ColorSpace 
SKINCARE: Aveda, Jan Marini, Zemmits
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz Phorest, Demandforce, ReachAI
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA   
“We educate ourselves about technology through immersion. It is always a little hard to do something new, and that is why we bring on at least one new technological advancement every year to keep change and growth.”

VERDE SALON GROUP
Winnipeg, Alberta
Roberto Sinopoli
SQUARE FEET: 2500, 2000    
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 40
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $65
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda 
COLOR: Aveda  
SKINCARE: Aveda  
TECH SUPPORT: Zenoti, Vish 
ASSOCIATIONS: ICA, PBA, Green Circle
“From internal communication to education and leadership development, our Google Suite helps our team of 40 stylists and leaders stay on the same page. With our in-house made ‘Verde Intranet’, we have centralized all our systems.”

CLIENT RETENTION AND REFERRAL

New clients fuel a salon’s growth, while retained ones are the foundation for profitability. These salons design clever programs and systems to encourage rebooking, reward client referrals, and build lasting loyalty. 

ALLURE DESIGNS IN BEAUTY
Libertyville, IL
Shelly Malizola
SQUARE FEET: 3173     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 22
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $78
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe, Davines, Aveda
COLOR: Aveda, Davines, Pulp Riot
SKINCARE: Glo Skincare, Aveda 
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Mya, Vish 
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, Green Circle  
“We launched a new incentive program designed to attract clients who value premium services. We give beautifully designed gift cards to stylists and estheticians who are less than 70% productive. The team members give the cards to existing clients, encouraging them to share with family and friends. The cards offer $50 off any service valued at $250 or more. We saw a 10% increase in new client count in 2025.”

GRAY & GRAHAM SALON
Madisonville, LA
Abbie Crafton
SQUARE FEET: 1500     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $83
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kerastase, L’Oréal 
COLOR: L’Oréal, Redken
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Vish  
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA    
“To introduce new clients to the Gray & Graham experience, we launched $30 Blowouts every Tuesday. This low-barrier entry allows them to experience our atmosphere, stylist expertise, and luxury service without committing to a full-color appointment. Once they visit, they rarely leave—our retention rate grew from 35% to 62%.”

GROOVY KATZ SALON & SPA
Iowa City, IA
Amy Mayfield Lusche
SQUARE FEET: 2000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 11
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $48
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKINCARE: Aveda  
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz
“We track our service goals, pre-booking and treatments on a board in the breakroom. We think it’s important they see what their totals are, and they are required to write in theitr own weekly treatment total.”

HER SECRET HAIR
Alamo, CA
Helen Owens
SQUARE FEET: 600, 750, 1200   
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 1
AVERAGE HAIR REPLACEMENT SERVICE: $5000
TECH SUPPORT: Vagaro 
“I’m constantly thinking about ways to create community programs that benefit everyone through my Hairstylist Referral Program. By getting to know stylists in my community and sharing my hair loss story, I’m offering myself as a referral for highly advanced hair loss conditions while learning how we can help each other. Stylists who refer their clients for my advanced replacement services retain their clients for styling, so there is no interruption in that relationship.”  

MY FATHER'S MUSTACHE
Cookeville, TN
Debbie Fletcher and Brittany Fletcher Elmore
SQUARE FEET: 1050, 3000    
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 20
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $44
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Redken, JPMS, Pureology
COLOR: Redken, Pulpriot, Matrix
SKINCARE: Control Correctives, Bio Elements, Hempz
NAIL CARE: PPI, CND, Madam Glam
TECH SUPPORT: Envision, Payroc, Tippy, Jotform, Spacecrafted
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, SSBC
“New guests are offered a gift with several coupons to incentivize rebooking. They receive 10% off retail on their first visit, $10 off a second visit when they reserve it during their first visit, and $10 off a new service they have never received during their third visit. We set this up strategically because the average guest is more likely to stay with you, if they visit three times.”

NURTUR SALON + SPA
Columbus, OH
Patrick Thompson
SQUARE FEET: 4200     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 43
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKINCARE: Ultraceuticals, Aveda 
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, ReachAI,  Vish, Beekeeper, Unifocus
ASSOCIATIONS:   ICA, ISPA, PBA  
“Our points-based Nurtur Rewards program is designed to assist our team by incentivizing guests for desired behaviors, such as rebooking and buying retail. We reward existing guests with 500 points for referring a guest. We know rebooking builds retention, so we also give them 250 points when our guests rebook their future service.”