What’s Shaping Spa Now
The Mary Bemis Report
I recently addressed NorCal Spa Alliance’s first meeting of the New Year and shared some of my thoughts on what’s shaping spa now. Here’s my take:
A desire to feel safe. We’re coming out of a time where nothing feels safe. I believe there’s a bit of a dichotomy going on right now with the consumer’s desire to “get out of their comfort zone” and “seek new adventures”—I believe there’s also a deep and growing desire to feel safe—consumers want to enter spaces in which they feel safe. Not only physically and emotionally safe, but safe as in sanitary and clean. Hence the rise of the medical spa, but I’m saving that topic for later. Let’s go back to the desire to feel safe . . .
Hiding behind the apron strings of the metaverse. I’ve noticed that some people want to know exactly what they’re getting into before they even get there, as in “I want to be safe and pre-experience what I’m going to experience to make sure it’s worth my time.” The other side to that is people really want to be surprised. Go figure. On the virtual note: Spas are competing against an increasingly virtual world that has become more convincing and that actually raises the spa bar. Today, you must know your clients, make them feel good, gain their trust. Your spa experience must be worth it like never before.
A need for trust. We have a much more health-conscious and suspicious population than ever before.
People are enormously distrustful—corporations are—have been—collecting data about their customer,
and people have become super-discerning—they aren’t gullible anymore. And they don’t want surprises
that aren’t positive. People are looking for something better—and there are a lot of alternatives in the
luxury market. You really need to know your clientele—and they need to trust you. There’s data
collection about us that knows us better than we know ourselves in some ways—and that really raises
the trust issue. If your client thinks you’re abusing their trust, you’re toast.
By: Mary Bemis – Insider’s Guide to SPAS
https://www.insidersguidetospas.com/the-insiders-guide-to-whats-shaping-spa-now/