If you are an owner of a beauty salon and struggling to get clients, that one thought to create a salon app probably crossed your mind.

And, that idea has brought you to this blog. Although it doesn’t matter what the reason is, in such a time when people have become tech-savvy, it is understood that they prefer digital solutions to take services of any brand.

Salon apps have become a huge hit in a few years; it has surely replaced the traditional ways of making phone calls and standing in long lines to get your preferred beauty services.

There are a lot of salon owner that have ‘how to create a salon app’ luring in their mind. If you have a similar query, this blog is for you.

We present to you the complete guide to salon booking app development through which you will help you gain a lot of knowledge and clear all your doubts.

What is a Beauty Salon App?

What is Beauty Salon App

So, what is a beauty salon app?

A beauty salon app is a platform that helps the user gain access to beauty services, book their appointment & make payments from the comfort of their couch.

These beauty salon apps have gained importance within a few years for providing users with an open channel 24/7. And, for businesses to get clients & maintain their image in this dynamic market.

Seeing the growing demand of users, it is high time to turn to a reliable development company to develop a beauty salon app & enjoy revenue.

If you are planning to build a beauty salon app, we present to you salon market statistics in the below section will motivate you even more.

Salon Software Market Size & Share Analysis

We believe this section is surely crucial for you to create an app like Glamsquad, Styleseat, or Booksy. After all, the significance of any market is well-shown through the statistics. So, how can we leave this important element out?

Let’s get to know about it-

A survey by the Statista research department shows the revenue of the spa and beauty salon market was $128.59 billion in 2017. And, it will increase to $190.81 billion in 2024. Astounding right?

Well, let’s look at some other stats that make up the major segment of the salon market.

  • The spa and salon software market will grow at a CAGR of 10.90% between 2024 and 2029.
  • Meanwhile, Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing market for spas & salons, while North America is the largest.
  • Mobile apps currently target more than $40 billion industry which you can leverage to engage with customers.

Overall, the market is growing at an upward pace. You can seamlessly be a part of this growing market, build a salon management app, eliminate your business challenges & leverage the mounting market.

Talking about challenges, let’s get to know them.

Current Challenges Faced by Salon Businesses

While salons are working tirelessly to make people like us presentable and confident, there are lots of challenges behind the doors that these businesses face.

Challenges faced by salon businesses

Once you comprehend these challenges, you will understand the need to create your own salon booking app.

1. Staffing Issues

Hiring staff is one of the main problems of salon businesses. The lack of expert employees seems to be another one.

To deliver exceptional services and make a name in this competitive market, salon businesses need to hire professionals. And, believe it or not, it is surely a costly affair. As a result, many salons face staff shortages.

We believe you can take the help of existing staff, train and motivate them to deliver better services. Also, create a beauty salon app to keep an eye on your employees and reduce their turnover.

2. Technology Integration

Businesses in modern times are expected to walk with technology. But, it is not as simple as it sounds.

Employing and managing salon management software is not for everyone, especially for small business owners. They face a lot of problems in adapting to virtual appointments, payment set-up, and marketing. But, it is necessary to create your own salon booking app to keep up with the trends and perform better in the market. With the help of expert guidance, salon owners can surely work their way out of any problem.

3. Changing Beauty Trends

Beauty trends can change in the twinkling of an eye. It is surely a challenge for every salon business to stay updated with the latest beauty trends. Part of the problem is to guide staff to meet the changing needs of customers.

In such desperate times, you can create an app like Glamsquad, Styleseat, or Booksy which will be a practical solution to know about dynamic user preferences and deliver better output.

4. Competition in This Industry

Another major issue is the huge competition in this industry. Many salons are opening every day, so it becomes tough for existing businesses to bring customers to their salons. Apart from that, businesses also face hard-hitting rivalry from both local and chain salons.

To stand out from your competition, you need to differentiate your services, develop a salon booking mobile app that displays your work & showcase your client’s testimonials to attract users. Also, hire trained employees who work with market trends and make sure to keep affordable pricing. It will surely make you stand out from the rest.

5. Marketing and Online Presence

The most important element when running a business is to maintain your online presence. To connect with users, you have to take the help of social media and build your own salon booking app. You can deliver different coupons, bonuses, hampers, etc. for them. Announce it through your virtual channels, this will surely encourage and motivate users to take your services. In this era of the digital landscape, you need to filter out some marketing strategies to carve out your unique space among customers.

6. Customer Relationship Management

For business owners, it is important to build a relationship with customers & create an extraordinary experience. But, creating a strong relationship with customers can feel like threading a needle.

You have to make sure to gather their feedback, work on them & bring necessary changes. Also, bring loyalty programs and provide customized services to secure continuing customer devotion.

7. Cost Management

Salon owners are in tough competition to win more customers. To do so, you have to balance operational costs with better pricing strategies. No, we are not saying to lower prices & sell services at a loss. All we are saying is that you can provide value to services at affordable prices. Apart from that, to manage your costs, you should track your stock level and supply chain costs too.

8. Regulatory Compliance

Another challenge that people don’t talk about much is regulatory compliance. Different countries have different regulations; failing to comply with them can cost you a lot. Make sure to research and learn about the products that you are using. Ensure licensing and make sure you have the latest permit. Also, you can display such crucial information on your salon app to build trust and reputation among users.

9. Economic Factors

Another problem is maintaining business operations during economic downturns. For example- COVID-19 led to an economic recession that hit hard salons, it led to the closing of 20% of salons. But, later the market bounced back about 70% of economic levels. If in the future, god forbids any economic problem to arise in the market, you have to manage the costs of your product and services & plan your operations accordingly.

Benefits of a Salon App for Your Business

For many salon businesses, building a salon app has proven its worth. Before you delve into ‘how to develop a salon app’, it is necessary to answer why to invest.

Benefits of Salon App For Your Business

This is to ensure your business reaches to right set of customers, so for that what’s better than an on-demand salon app? We have come up with the best compelling reasons to build a beauty salon app for your business.

1) Improved Customer Experience

82% of people use mobile apps to book their online appointments, which is continuously growing and shows no signs of slowing down.

Calling to book an appointment at a salon and keeping track of that appointment is a tedious task. But, when it is done through an app, it is surely easy and quick. You can compare both ways and will feel the erstwhile one a lot of effort.

At times when every business across different industries is working towards providing more convenience and comfort to user life, you shouldn’t stay back.

If you develop a salon booking mobile app, it will lead to a better approach for users to book appointments, check their schedules, and do much more.

Moreover, it will surely cater to improved user experience leading to more user engagement & sales. In the end, every business is trying to do the same in this competitive market.

2) 24/7 Appointment Scheduling Option

With the growing market of salon apps, the demand to create beauty salon management apps is also growing. On digging deeper, we found that booking an appointment from any time & anywhere was a notable reason.

As more people realize the value of protecting their hair and body; they rush to such apps where they can get the best services.

By building a salon app for your business, you are always providing them with an open option in times of need. For example, if a customer wants to book an appointment of next day and it’s already midnight. Without making any calls, they can easily go to your app, find a suitable slot and book it. This way, you can also plan your next day accordingly.

3) Discount and Rewards Options

Who doesn’t like some discounts? Well, discount and reward options have become a luring option for businesses to attract new customers and for user retention.

However, giving users discounts manually will take up a lot of costs, resources, and effort, Salon management software can easily do it for you. Through the app, you can reach more customers within very less time giving you an extra reason to build your own salon booking app.

You can generate reward options and discounts to improve their experience with your brand. Apart from that, you can provide customized deals to your loyal customers to appreciate their engagement with your business. This isn’t a secret that to build an app like Glamsquad, Styleseat, or Booksy, you should provide such benefits to users to stay at the top.

4) Prompt Payment

Gone are the days when people used to stand in queues to book salon appointments and make payments. Apart from face masks, a pandemic has also made cashless payments very common. Nowadays people are short of cash and prefer online payment.

Through on-demand app development, you can give users ease to make payments and confirm their booking. Not only for the user, it will also be easy for you to track the cash inflow through the app and make your finances more simplified.

One more thing, make sure to provide users with different payment gateways including credit and debit cards. Doing so will surely increase the chances of booking and improve the user experience.

5) Customer Feedback for Betterment

Let’s be honest, customer feedback is the backbone of every business. To stay in this competitive market, it is necessary to know about your strong points and weaknesses.

While approaching a mobile app development company, ensure that you get a feedback form that users can easily access and provide their responses. This way you can use your app to listen to customer’s feedback through different channels.

This will not only help you to know how your users feel about your brand but also build a better relationship with them. Also, users will feel heard and a connection with your brand.

Once you have user feedback, you will know what they like & what they don’t leading to improved services & better customer experience. Ultimately, customer satisfaction is a priority to keep your business in the market.

6) Automated Appointment Reminder

Imagine you have a telecaller who forgot to share a particular appointment with you. And, now your customer is in your salon but you are already occupied and cannot provide your service to them.

This will lead to chaos and bad publicity for your business. However, with automated appointment reminders in your spa & salon booking app, this will be taken care of.

Once you create a salon appointment app, it will remind you and your customer about the appointment. As a result, you can manage your schedule accordingly and your client can administer their appointment.

Apart from that, you can also get crucial information that might help you target them with deals and coupons in the future.

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7) Encourage Business Automation

Within a few years, technology has become an active part of our lives. One of the several reasons to create a beauty salon app for your business is that it will help you automate your workflow from appointments to payroll; everything can be done so quickly.

By automating crucial areas of business, you can focus on more important tasks and make your life easier. At the same time, your business won’t be affected and will work as smoothly as it should. Business automation makes it a necessity to build a beauty salon app for your business.

8) Display All Your Services

Without a beauty and salon app, it is not possible to showcase your services to your users, and for users to find out what services your business has to offer.

By doing so, you are providing your customers with crucial information that might convert random people into your clients. The necessity to create a salon management app arises to make things easier for your clients. So that, whenever they need salon services, they can easily find what they are looking for on your app.

You can consult a grooming app development company to get a user-friendly salon booking app that displays your services & drives your user to your doorstep.

9) Powerful Direct Marketing Channel

Not many people understand this but your app can be a powerful direct marketing channel. It can be easy for you to gather information about your users and target them for promotions.

Apart from that, you can approach your users with deals for a limited time which will make them act fast. This way, your client will interact more with your app leading to more open doors to cater to them.

With proper planning and a strategic approach, you can get a salon management application that acts as a powerful marketing channel designed for your business needs.

10) Manage Your Employees

From technicians to receptionists, every salon has so many employees. Being an owner, you cannot manage them at least not all the time, but your salon software can.

You can easily access their report, utilize them to the right use, and you can evaluate their performance. Also, you can keep an eye on staffing, training, administering, and assessing staff leading to gathering a skilled team and delivering high-quality services to your customers.

Besides, proper employee management leads to the effective working of your salon business. This can also improve your staff morale, eliminate in-house politics, and boost productivity.

11) In-depth Reporting and Analytics

Whether you develop a makeup app or a salon app, reporting and analytics are useful and help to keep the speculation out of decision-making.

With advanced reporting capabilities, you can easily get to know about your customer preferences, market trends, sales insight, and performance of your service.

By gathering such data, you can make more informed decisions and find areas to upgrade. This can also assist you in making strategies that drive progress and success.

12) Unified Database

Well, well, here is one of the best benefits of having a salon app for which businesses hire mobile app developers is that it assists them in building a centralized database.

This will remove the need to keep paper-based records and store all the necessary information such as inventory level, customer information, and much more at a safe location.

Apart from that, it will not only make efficient use of your time but also reduce human errors. As well as, with all the necessary information available in one place, you can easily access complete data whenever you need it.

13) Sell your Beauty Products Online

If you own a salon, it might be a possibility that you sell a product or two, this gives you more reason to create a salon app.

You can easily promote your product on your platform. Some people might buy your products and not services, this way you can also cater to them and earn good revenue.

If you plan to invest in a salon app, it is surely a smart through which you can sell your products & services to millions of customers around the globe. It is surely a great advantage for businesses, especially for small enterprises.

14) Increase Your Profit

Why one should invest in a salon app? Simply put, to increase your revenue. Building a salon app will not only cover your cost to develop an app but also make millions. You might wonder how?

Once scheduling appointments for clients becomes easy through the app, they are more likely to return to you for more services. Also, you can announce a new product or service launch; tailor your marketing plan, and do a lot of work through your salon app.

Moreover, you can use your professionals at the right place and let them provide high-quality services to your clients. Soon, you will see how your revenue took an upside trend for the better. Honestly, we could share so many reasons to invest in a salon app until we’re blue in the face. But, this will always remain on the top.

15) Timely Communications

In this competitive market, timely communication with your customer plays an important role in your survival in the industry.

A single missed reply can lead to a missed opportunity to cater to your customers. Do you want that? No. You can create a mobile salon app for your business to eliminate such issues.

In case, if your employee fails to mention an appointment or a customer wants to search for services nearby for any urgent situation, your app can serve as your representative.

With complete details about your products and services, you will become more visible to clients. Once your customer finds you suitable for their requirements, they can connect with you easily and efficiently without any uncertainty.

Well, we believe, you got an idea of how a salon management application can be of great use. Now, understand this, before you take custom software development services there are various categories of salon apps you can choose from. First, get to know them.

Different Types of Salon Apps to Choose From

When we decided to write this salon app development guide, we made sure to pick every crucial element that is important for you which brings us to another important section. See, the salon app landscape is huge where a lot of mobile app ideas can turn into digital solutions.

Different types of salon apps

To understand ‘how to create a salon app’, it is necessary to recognize which one you want to develop. Hence, you need to explore different categories to choose from.

Type 1: Beauty Salon Management App

Within a few years, Salons have expanded their wings from conventional infrastructure to digital worlds. A beauty salon management app that helpful tool which helps businesses to manage their salons and connect with users. Apart from that, it also assists in managing inventory, client management, data security, & much more.

Type 2: Hair Salon App

Unsurprisingly, Nail and Hair salons are one of the major markets of salons. 1 in 4 Americans said to spend the most on their haircuts. So, if you are planning for a hair salon app, it is honestly a viable solution to go for. Users can choose haircutting, chemical treatment, hair & scalp treatment, and more without leaving their houses.

Type 3: Spa Service App

Do you know why people take the help of the spa service app? it is to rest, relax, and obtain some peace. Not only this, it also improves their physical and mental well-being. There is no doubt that with an app, you can assist user better and improve their interaction. Also, you can put all your human resources to best use.

Type 4: Nail Salon App

As we have talked about earlier, nail service surely dedicates its fair share to the growing market of beauty salon apps. People often take the help of the Nail salon app for their nail care, you can offer them your manicure, pedicure, nail color & nail enhancement services through the app to take care and pamper their nails.

Type 5: Salon Appointment App

A salon appointment app has become a new norm. It assists users in scheduling their appointments and confirming their bookings quickly. In this fast-paced time, where every salon business is ready to take your customers, a salon appointment app will be helpful to make your users stay loyal to you.

Type 6: Salon Offers and Promotional App

Special offers & discount coupons aid salon owners in promoting their business by engaging their users with better deals & offers. Such kind of app can assist you in gaining new customers and retaining your old clients. Sending regular coupons & discounts makes users stay loyal to a brand and enhances their experience.

Type 7: Salon Waste Management App

From chemical waste such as hair dye, and product chemicals to metal waste including aerosol cans, scissors, and whatnot, salons produce a lot of waste. With the growing awareness of the environment, salon owners can take the initiative with a salon waste management app that helps them track their waste and take measures to reduce it as well as recycle it.

Type 8: Boutique Salon App

A lot of small salons not only offer beauty services to their clients. But, also provide different products such as jewelry, clothes, & more. For them, a boutique salon app can be a boon for your business & can lead to providing customers with vast options to choose from & make a purchase.

Top Salon Booking Apps

To understand “how to build a salon app”, your first approach is to do thorough research on the best salon booking apps and software.

The market has seen many salon apps; we have shared the top ones below for your assistance. Gaining knowledge about them will help you narrow down the best aspects of a salon app that gives strong competition to these dominating apps.

Top Salon Booking Apps

Talking about features, we thought we would share some of the basic and advanced features; people look forward to in a salon App. As we made sure to provide you with complete knowledge, this comprehensive guide to create a salon booking app will surely be a turning point in your experience with salon apps. Let’s get going.

Key Features of Salon Booking Apps

Features are the backbone of mobile apps for every business. These features are the elements that can make your salon app more user-friendly & engaging for users.

So, what are some of the basic features that you should use to build your own salon booking app? We will know them all panel-wise in this section of the salon app development guide.

A] User Panel Features

Salon App User Panel Features

Let’s start with the user panel. While talking about ‘how to build a salon app’, we will suggest considering these user panel features for your app to make it easy to use.

  • User Registration

Ensure your user has easy onboarding on the app. Skip those long forms and help them register on your app through phone numbers, Gmail, or social media platforms.

  • Product and Service Selection

Provide your user with wide-ranging products & services. Also, make sure to offer specific details about them. This will surely make their selection easy.

  • Stylist Selection

Sometimes users like the service of a particular stylist, so you’d be wise to let them choose their preferred stylist through the search option. This way you can build a devoted clientele for your app.

  • Appointment Scheduling

It is one of the important elements to get in your salon app. Make sure to provide your user the facility to schedule their appointment comfortably & hassle-free.

  • Appointment History

If you deliver high-quality service to your salon app, ensure to integrate appointment history as well. So, user can check their favorite service from the history and book again.

  • In-App Messaging

Sometimes users would like to enquire before booking any service. You should get In-app messaging to assist users right away with any doubts they have. This is quite similar to how chatting apps work.

  • Style Gallery

Let your user search & discover about your specialty and your professional’s work. This way clients feel more empowered to select their styles and get amazing looks.

  • Loyalty Programs

Returning clients spend 67% more. A customer feels more connected and loyal to a business that values their presence through rewards & perks. Make sure to integrate a loyalty program to retain customers.

  • Push Notifications

To make a beauty salon app successful in the market, push notification services play an important role. It serves as a reminder for users to check your app for new updates, offers, discounts & more to keep them jammed with your app.

  • Save Favorites

For users’ glancing interest, you can allow them to use save favorite to store or remove any preferred salon service. This will keep their user interest intact with your app.

  • Payment Gateway

Integrating a payment gateway will be beneficial for users. User can pay and get their booking confirmed. This way, you can also know which user to expect.

  • Ratings & Reviews

It is necessary to know about customer feedback about your service and your professionals. Through ratings & reviews, they can easily leave their responses which will also help to sell your services to other customers.

  • Promotions & Discounts

Discounts attract users and serve as a great way to separate you from your rivals. This feature will provide users with coupon cards and deals that can be redeemed in the future.

  • Help & Support

If users get stuck anywhere or have trouble accessing your services, this feature will be really helpful. Users can connect and get assistance from your experts quickly.

B] Salon Owner Panel Features

Salon App Owner Panel Features

Now, get to know about features that are necessary for the salon owner panel that will help you to keep an eye on the app.

  • Appointment Management

This feature allows the owner to schedule, modify, or cancel any appointment. it will assist in streamlining booking appointments & augmenting your user experience.

  • Staff Management

Staff management is an important feature to get in your salon booking app. It helps to easily keep tabs on your staff, modify their details, & monitor their performance.

  • Service and Pricing Management

Service & Pricing Management is an important feature that one must have in the salon app. It helps in listing services, creating pricing, and optimizing it over time due to market dynamics & competitors.

  • Client Management

It is mandatory to have a client management feature in your owner panel. No doubt, it’s a helpful way to supervise and organize your business interaction with clients and manage their profiles.

  • Inventory Management

You’d be astounded to see how easily and effectively you can manage, and store your inventory. Through this feature, you can track your inventory levels & their location. In other words, you get a whole investor management system of your own within the app.

  • Business Analytics and Reporting

Analytics & reporting provide insight into sales, the performance of your services, customer interaction & much more. Utilizing this, you can develop effective mobile app marketing strategies to target more users & build awareness for your salon services.

  • Marketing and Promotions

Marketing & promotions focus on increasing visibility & awareness of your products & services. You can develop promotional content to personalize the user experience. Marketing and promotions are simply awareness and conversions.

  • Notifications and Alerts

You should add notifications & alerts to your feature list. Owners can timely notify their users about any new service/product added, and send customized alerts for deals.

  • Loyalty Program Management

The purpose of this feature is to retain your customers. Through this, you can plan campaigns based on customer repeat visits and incentivize them. This can improve your business & its revenue.

C] Admin Panel Features

Salon App Admin Panel Features

Admins manage the other two panels. So, what features should you integrate into your admin panel? Know below-

  • Admin Dashboard

The dashboard allows the admin to know about the activities happening in the app. They can see and manage all profiles of your salon booking application.

  • User Management

Your admin panel can take care of users of your app and resolve issues. They can also keep an eye on them & control user access to the app.

  • Salon Management

A well-structured admin panel helps in the smooth functioning of the salon business. From resolving user inquiries, and ensuring clear communication to managing online reputation, the admin panel helps to take care of everything.

  • Appointment Management

Honestly, this feature is so important to ensure the optimization of your resources, reduce operational inefficiencies & manage your appointment. It assists in organizing client details and their schedules.

  • Accepting Requests

The admin panel also accepts requests. Whenever there is a new user on the app registering themselves with details, the admin panel is the one to verify the requests. Make sure to get it when you make a salon app.

  • Produce Monthly Reports

Admin panel produces monthly reports or should we say analytics & reports. This feature provides a good overview of profit, sales, & loss. Also, it becomes easy to know about better performance and required growth areas.

  • Push Notification

A basic yet necessary feature for the admin panel. This allows admins to get insight about their stocks & products. They can add or remove out-of-stock products.

Advanced Features to Have in Your Salon Booking App

Of course, no one wants to make a beauty salon app in the app store that people don’t like to download. Whether you want to build an app like Glamsquad, Styleseat, or Booksy, it is necessary to keep tabs on advanced features & latest trends.

Salon Booking App Advanced Features

Have a look at these compelling features that you help you manage your salon operations without getting headaches. Let’s get to know them.

  • Augmented Reality (AR)

You might wonder what the use of augmented reality in salon apps is. Well, it can be accommodating for your users to find new hairstyles, nail colors & tattoos, makeup, and different beauty products. It can assist them with virtual try-ons to know about their afterlook. It provides more convenience to users to book an appointment much like the application of AR in eCommerce, enabling virtual shopping.

  • AI-Powered Recommendations

How about predicting what your user needs and presenting with the same? Yes, you can do that with AI technology in apps. These recommendation engines understand your user needs through frequently taken services/products, search history, and more, and show what’s relevant to them. You can leverage such features in your salon app to serve the right services at the right time to the right audience.

  • Smart Appointment Scheduling

If you plan to make a salon app, integrating smart appointment scheduling can be a great idea. It can make finding slots easy & scheduling appointments more efficiently with their favored expert. Your user can visit you virtually whenever they want to & even reschedule as well as cancel their appointment 24/7.

  • Multi-Language Support

To become a brand, you have to serve global clients. Your salon app & software should support multi-language. This way you can serve customers in the language they understand and feel comfortable in. As well as you can leave a positive impact on your users ensuring customer retention and amplifying new customers.

  • Offline Mode

Losing an internet connection while scrolling through salon services can be annoying. But, it doesn’t mean user activity should be interrupted. Providing users with offline mode is a trend that is here to stay. Even, location-tracking apps like Google Maps & Uber also leverage this. Overall, your salon app shouldn’t face any interruption and this feature will ensure this.

  • Multi-Platform Integration

Cross-platform also referred to as multi-platform, guarantees that your app will work across numerous platforms like PC, laptop, or different operating systems. This way you can expand your presence in the market and reach more users.

  • Live Streaming and Tutorials

Through live streaming your user will become more aware of your professionals and your services. Believe it or not, it impacts your business positively. You can live stream your bestselling services, and products and add a link to it. You can also ask your technicians and stylists to take part in it and improve your reach. After all, the more eyes you get, the better your sales will be.

Steps to Create a Beauty Salon App

‘How to develop a salon app’? This has been in your mind probably from the start of the blog.

We understand your curiosity & we appreciate your patience. Now, it’s time to provide you with a step-by-step guide to salon booking app development for which you were waiting.

Steps to Create A Salon App

So, let’s get right into the app development process:

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Target Audience

Considering you already have a mobile app idea, the foremost step in how to build a salon app is to know your target audience, their demands, and requirements, and how your salon app can be helpful to them. This way you can filter out necessary details to focus on from the beginning. Also, this will lay the foundation for other steps. So, it is better to do a thorough analysis of the target audience to ensure there your app doesn’t collapse in the market.

Step 2: Market Research

If you ask us what’s one thing that can make a big difference for your salon app, our answer will be market research. Before you create a beauty salon app, thorough & in-depth research of the market is necessary. It tells you about your competitor, and their USP, and helps to tap into unused opportunities. Also, make sure to go through those failed salon apps. So that, you can know what you shouldn’t do to be among them.

Step 3: Choose an App Platform

Moving forward in your quest for how to make a salon app brings us to choosing a suitable platform for your salon app. You have to decide whether you want to take Android app development services or iOS app development services to create a market-leading and innovative app. Or, you can also go for cross-platform if you want to target wide-ranging customers.

Step 4: Selection of the Tech Stack

Choosing a tech stack isn’t a piece of cake. You have to conduct thorough research before you pick a tech stack for your salon app. Consider it as one of the important aspects of ‘how to create a salon app’. Well, for further understanding this brief mobile app tech stack guide can help-

BasisTechnology
Push Notification/SMS alertFCM & APNS
Phone verificationSinch & Nexmo
Data managementDataStax
ProgrammingMandrill: GWT
Cloud EnvironmentGoogle and AWS
Payment GatewayStripe & PayPal
DatabaseMongoDB & Cassandra
Real-time analyticsSpark, Cisco & IBM
FrameworkFlutter & Ionic

To get more assistance, you should hire mobile app developers who are experienced in creating a salon app with the right set of technologies.

Step 5: App Designing

Even experts believe that UI/UX designing plays an important role in your salon app’s success. Your aim should be to design your app aesthetically pleasing & user-friendly. It is needed to take your designs through different stages of wireframes that will provide more weightage for the final choice. It is not only eye-pleasing but also essential for driving user engagement and augmenting user satisfaction. From here, you can also MVP development which is an optional step but surely useful.

Step 6: App Development

Getting your salon app developed is like seeing your idea turning into a digital solution. It is one of the most important and longest processes in ‘How to make a salon app’. It comprises of two different steps-

  • Front-end – Developing app UI with technologies like JavaScript, CSS & HTML.
  • Back-end– Building server-side logic, writing APIs, and working with the front end.

Ensure to communicate & collaborate with developers and designers throughout the mobile app development process to get your development how you want it. Also, take their feedback as they are more aware of the latest trend who knows it might be the cherry on the top for your app.

Step 7: App Testing

When we talk about how to develop a salon app & make it a huge success in the market, an important step is mobile app testing. The app goes through different types of testing including usability testing, compatibility testing & much more. It ensures your app is up to date and as per market standards. If there is any issue or bug, you can get it fixed in this phase.

Step 8: Launching your App

Once your final version is ready, you can deploy the app on your preferred store i.e. Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You have to submit the app for review adhering to the guidelines of your preferred store. It might take up to 2 weeks to hear from them, till then you can plan marketing strategies to increase your app downloads.

Also Read – Steps to Deploy an Android App & How To Launch an iOS App on App Store.

Step 9: Maintenance & Support

Your work is not over yet. Keep your eye on your user responses and app performance. Embark on app maintenance and support services. This will assist you in keeping your salon app updated and solve any repetitive issues.

With that, the process of ‘how to make a salon app’ is wrapped up here. We believe you have got a detailed idea about the steps and now it’s time to move forward with salon app monetization.

Monetization Strategies for Salon App

Ultimately, we reach to section where we will understand some app monetization strategies, here are some of the best ways how your salon app can make money.

Salon App Monetization Strategies

These approaches can mutually improve your finances and can be used even for those apps that are free to download. So, let’s delve into to further.

1. Freemium Model

It’s a very common method used by many businesses such as Spotify. This widely adopted monetization strategy includes the setting up of free and premium models. There is a free trial given to users that provides them a chance to test the apps before making any purchase. By joining the charm of a cost-free experience with tempting features, freemium is a win-win for businesses and users.

2. In-app Advertisement

In-app advertising is also a great model that has become a really popular way to generate money and is also seen in a lot of apps nowadays. In this concept, you can capitalize by showing ads to your users, different ad formats have gained developers’ attention from simple banners to small ad videos. This allows for improving user experience by connecting them to other services at the same time increasing returns.

3. Subscription Plans

Another way is by making subscription plans for your users. The free version is surely a viable way to attract a huge audience, but there are a lot of users ready to pay extra to enjoy some extra features. This way you can cater to your both audience. You can provide some insider offers, extra services, and much more to increase their visits to your salons while making a profit on the app as well. For layman, these are also known as subscription apps.

4. Referral Programs

To create a mobile salon app and make it fruitful in the market, you should incorporate referral programs. This way users will recommend your app to their friends and family and can earn a particular percentage once others enroll in the app or take your services. As a result, your app will get more exposure and increased revenue by building a dynamic revenue stream.

CTA 3_ Planning to take your Hair Salon Business next level

Cost to Develop A Salon App

Many of you are curious to know ‘How much does it cost to develop a salon app?’. We believe this section will be helpful for you. Understanding the overview of development costs is an important aspect of a complete guide to salon booking app development. Let’s get to know about it.

There is no accurate number we can tell you about salon app development costs. But, on average it ranges from $35,000 to $3,50,000. The cost can vary depending on the feature you want to integrate, the complexity of your project, the time taken to build your app, etc. Just to give you a small glimpse this below table will be helpful.

Complexity of your appWork doneApprox. development HoursCost
Basic appSimple features like Social login, No API integration, standard UI, etc.1400+$35,000-$120,000
ModerateBack-end server, Payment features, API integration, Custom UI features, etc.1500+$120,000 to $200,000
ComplexThird-party integrations, custom animations, real-time features, multi-language support, etc.1800+$200,000to $ 350,000+

We believe that now you have an idea of how the app complexity can increase/decrease your salon app development costs. Nevertheless, To get an accurate cost to build a salon app, you should contact a reliable company with all your project requirements.

Talking about that, we will also assist you with the prominent salon app development company in this next section of the blog.

CTA 1_ Planning to Develop a Salon App like Booksy

Ready to Build a Top Salon App with Nimble AppGenie?

Undoubtedly, the spa & salon industry is booming, and there is no indication of going back from here. If you want to be a part of this growing market and develop a beauty salon app, you should take the help of the best beauty salon app development company i.e. Nimble AppGenie.

However, there are a lot of companies in the market who will claim their greatness in this field. But, one thing that separates us is that we have worked on similar projects such as Close2mi. Our team of experienced developers, designers, and IT experts are always ready to serve clients that too with an affordable salon app development cost.

To get a head start, you can contact us with detailed project necessities and our expert will reach out to you within a few hours.

Conclusion

Creating a spa & salon app for your business has become a necessity. With a salon app, not only you will become more informed about your business operations & customers will also find it easy to connect with your brand.

Although salon businesses face high competition in the market, with an app, you can easily stand out from your competitors. Apart from that, you should also do a feature review to make sure you leave a positive impact on your users, leading to better sales & revenue. This can only happen when you partner with a reliable mobile app development company & use their guidance to gain control & make a name in the industry.

FAQs

A salon booking app is a platform that allows users to book their preferred services through their smartphones. They can check the vacant slots, select a service, and book their appointment.

If you want to build a salon app, you have to do thorough market research, choose the right app platform, focus on the best designs, choose the right stack, get your app developed, test, launch your app & move forward with maintenance & support.

The time to make a salon app depends on your business requirements & complexity. Your salon app can take from 4 to 6 months to a year. Make sure to collaborate with your developers & have the patience to get your app developed.

The cost to develop a salon booking app can be between $35,000 to $3,50,000. This price can increase or decrease based on your project. To get a cost estimate for your project, make sure to contact a reliable mobile app development company.

To earn from the salon booking app, you can plan and incorporate some app monetization strategies. Some of the best plans are freemium plans, referral programs, In-app advertisements, and many more.

To make your salon app a success, you need to integrate basic features such as user registration, dashboard, customer management, help & support, and advanced features like augmented reality, AI-powered recommendation & others.

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