When most people picture someone visiting a salon for a treatment they probably have a vision of a younger person. But increasing in fact the largest number of clients visiting salons are in the over 55’s age bracket. More healthier everyday lifestyles and better medical treatments both being major contributors to this ever increasing age range, with the average life expectancy of a woman now being 78 and for a man its 82.
Whereas the younger generation are having to cut their spending due to the recession and increased everyday living costs, older people tend to have more money to spend on treatments and are becoming the targeted market of many salons. This can be for a number of many reasons, the first being that when the majority of people reach the age of 55 their children, if they have them, will more than likely have left home, secondly mortgages will more than likely have been paid off and thirdly they will probably have a firm pension in force, thus leaving them with more disposable income.
The most popular treatments for these mature clients tend to be massages, facials and gel nails. Gel nails are inclined to be quite expensive as the client is required to return to the salon every two weeks. Thus the more mature clients find it easier to manage the cost of this.
One of the positives is that this older generation, being more financially secure and having more freedom with their finances, are perhaps more inclined to try new treatments. People of this age retain a really open outlook on life and in general have more freedom with regard to their time. Whereas a younger client may perhaps stick to a treatment they have had before and that they know remains affordable. However a salon should perhaps not specifically advertise treatments for the older generation because one of the main reasons mature people tend to visit a salon for a certain treatment is to actually make them feel and look younger. Thus treatments aimed only at those of a certain age may in fact put some mature clients off visiting the salon rather than encouraging it.
