The Changing Face Of Brazil - How the pandemic Sparked a Surge in Cosmetic Treatments

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a number of significant changes, many of which are still trailing in its wake, including the wearing of face coverings and keeping our distance from our fellow man. Across the globe, people began getting used to different ways of looking at things - including themselves.

Latin lockdown blues

In the days (and years) before the pandemic, most people in Brazil were accustomed to looking at themselves in the mirror whilst getting ready for work in the morning and would then go about their day without any particular preoccupation with their appearance. Then COVID-19 - and with it, Zoom meetings - changed all that.

As we began to hold virtual calls and meetings, these events were accompanied by a peculiar side effect - spending chunks of time each day looking at ourselves in a little box on-screen. Apparently, they didn't like what they saw. In 2020, Brazil saw a surge in the popularity of cosmetic surgeries and noninvasive procedures such as lip plumping, eyebrow re-shaping and skincare treatments like peels and facials. Whilst working from home, a large number of people chose to spend their money on treatments such as lip plumping acid injections at a cool $730 a pop in order to improve their appearance. Sao Paulo Beauty Consultant, Cintia Rios, says, "I had to lengthen my work hours and I hired three employees. Beauty is not in crisis, thank God"!

Facing the future

Cintia Rios is not alone in seeing a sharp uptick in customers looking for beauty treatments and, many salons have found it difficult to keep up with the increase in customers seeking appointments. Treatments such as lip fillers take around 30 minutes to complete, however, more complex treatments can take considerably longer and, managing these appointments at the same time as more routine ones can present a significant challenge to salons who are already having to cope with distancing guidelines. Salon owners in Brazil like Cintia have been turning to technology to help them cope with this welcome boost in business and, an increasingly popular tool for hair and beauty salons is Booksy's forward thinking scheduling software.

Staying one step ahead

Booksy is a scheduling platform for businesses which allows for efficient booking and management of appointments. Customers are able to book themselves an appointment using the Booksy app and can even amend and cancel through the app for the ultimate in convenience. While Booksy's app is great for customers (particularly those who don't enjoy having to make a phone call), it's real beauty is in the benefits that it offers for salon owners. Booksy uses artificial intelligence to intelligently manage appointments based on previous visits and average treatment times, meaning that salon owners can optimise their salon space and their employees' time. In addition to superb scheduling, Booksy can help out in other ways too, including:

Marketing - Booksy has some fantastic marketing features to help salon owners to stay in touch with existing customers and to reach out to new ones to keep those seats filled all week long.

Payments and prepayments - In 2021, a lot of salons are being forced to tighten their belts in order to recoup lockdown losses and, Booksy can help by allowing customers to pay for their treatments online so that salons don't need to hire reception staff. Salon owners can also use the software to take prepayment for treatments, thus reducing the number of no-shows which can significantly cut into their profits.

Product placement - Selling salon products is a really effective way of increasing a salon's revenue and, this can be done quickly and easily through the Booksy app. This also helps with keeping contact to a minimum with salons by selling online instead of having shelves of products which may be handled by multiple customers throughout the day.

Conclusion

As well as the emerging trend for cosmetic treatments, this time of year is likely to bring with it increased demand for haircuts, skincare treatments and nail art as people gear up for staycations and prepare to return to the workplace. For salon owners, Booksy is like an extra pair of hands which can take the strain out of appointment scheduling as well as offering some really valuable tools for admin, marketing and upsells.