Amy Hazen knows she’s a bit of an anomaly. As the owner of a busy suite (Hazen Hair Studio in Westborough, Massachusetts), she actually loves retailing. 

“I have two sinks in my suite and can do two clients at once. I installed some clean shelving, and I display a few lines,” she says. “When you’re in a small space, you have to get a little creative and be careful not to get too cluttered.” 

Hazen’s retail approach starts with the consultation and asking the client what challenges they are having with their hair. “They could say that they’re disappointed that their color fades or their hair has been feeling dry, so I pick a line that addresses their specific challenge and talk about what the product is doing for their hair while I’m shampooing them,” Hazen says. “I’ll grab the products and put them on the station facing the client, and after they leave, I’ll follow up by sending a text with my product recommendations.”

Naturally, the easiest thing for an interested client is to purchase the recommended products at the end of their service. Yet, Hazen points out that clients are often in a hurry or feel overwhelmed and need time to consider a purchasing decision. 

Through SalonInteractive, Hazen maintains an online storefront where all the products she carries on her shelves are available for sale, as well as products she doesn’t have the space to display in her limited space. “In the salon, I display SKUs from Eleven Australia, Maria Nila, Kevin.Murphy and Tribe, but online I also carry additional lines like ColorProof as well as Hot Tools that I use on clients in the salon, and they inquire about for use at home.”

She first heard about SalonInteractive from her sales rep about two months before COVID. “The pandemic was a time that clients shifted to Amazon for purchasing everything, and you had to figure out a way to work with it or just complain about it,” she says.

Hazen loves that she can choose what products to carry in her online store and that SalonInteractive has different templates, so she customized her storefront with her logo and choose a template the reflects the natural, organic vibe of the lines she carries. “I’m an ammonia-free color salon, so the design matches my mission,” she says.

Luring the Retail Hook

If a client is new, Hazen can choose to send them an introductory coupon for 5-20% off their first online order. While the coupon value is deducted from her product commission, she believes it’s worth it. 

“I always tell them that the coupon is thanking them for being a new client. I would rather they use a product at home that I recommend, and the discount encourages that first purchase, which gives them a chance to fall in love with it,” Hazen says. “Plus, a client who purchases is more likely to be retained as a client because they trust you.” 

Hazen says she averages commissions on online product sales between 25% and 50%, depending on the product line, and that orders ship directly from the distributor Evolve Salon Systems. “I have nothing but good things to say about them—they are all about supporting stylists, and they have wonderful sales reps,” Hazen says. “I love that I don’t have the hassle of shipping or paying the shipping fees, and my distributor offers free returns, and will take back any products my clients are unhappy with.”

Always in Stock

Because Hazen has limited shelving space in her suite, she may be out of a particular product a client wants to buy. She loves her online ordering clients tend to receive their orders within one or two days. “If I’ve just colored the client’s hair, I’ll remind them they shouldn’t be washing it for two days anyway,” she laughs. 

Hazen believes her online storefront is a success, reporting that about half of her clientele purchase in the salon and half purchase online. “I still think it’s important to keep the retail in my suite, and I’ll try to display one of everything, two if it’s a popular product,” she says. “But many clients will buy in between—if they run out of product at home, they don’t have to wait until their next appointment,” she says. 

Hazen also loves being able to research a client’s product history through SalonInteractive. She can see which products she recommended, which the client has ordered, and how often. “I had to take a medical leave from December through mid-February, and having the storefront was great, because I didn’t want my clients to get used to purchasing the product somewhere else,” she says.

Social Media Selling

Hazen leans on Instagram to boost her retail sales, saying her clients really respond to her posts. “I’ll do a product spotlight video, and not necessarily with a client. For example, this summer, I targeted products that protects against humidity and curly girl products. I’ll shoot a quick video talking about the shampoo, conditioner, and mask, and maybe use a styling product on myself,” she says. 

She cautions that she keeps these social videos quick. “You want to keep them engaged,” she says. “I don’t think clients really care to hear a long list of product ingredients; they’d rather hear one or two things that the product does well. Attention spans are short.”