Pulse Legacy Archive January / February 2012 | Page 56
2011 SPA CONSUMER
SNAPSHOT INITIATIVE
THE
SPA-GOER
AT A
GLANCE
B Y M A E M A Ñ AC A P - J O H N S O N
W
ho is today’s typical
spa-goer? What
keeps him or her
from visiting a spa?
How is he or she managing stress?
What motivates him or her to
return to a spa?
These are a few of
the key questions
answered by the
2011 Spa
Consumer
Snapshot
Initiative.
Conducted by
PwC, the study
offers a bite-sized snapshot of
today’s spa-goer and looks at key
drivers that impact his or her decision to visit a spa. Highlighted are
key findings from the study along
with identified opportunities to
help you focus your business strategy to the right demographics.
54 PULSE
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January/February 2012
Consumers between the
ages of 25 to 34 visit spas
more frequently.
HIGHLIGHTS: While the 2011 Spa Consumer Snapshot
Initiative indicates that 39 percent of the U.S. population have
visited a spa at least once in the past 12 months, only a
quarter of these spa-goers have actually been to a spa more
than once. Of these regular spa-goers, those between the ages
of 25 to 34 are the most frequent spa visitors.
This data may not be too surprising, considering that this
particular demographic tend to have the financial capacity to
spend on their health and wellness (the typical spa-goers,
according to this study, earns on average more than $50,000
per year) and are likely to take proactive measures to care for
themselves—whether it’s reversing the first signs of aging,
relieving stress or losing weight.
OPPORTUNITIES: Look for treatments that offer real benefits to this age group. Anti-aging treatments, for instance,
will highly be popular since many would want to start protecting their skin early from signs of stress or aging. This age
group, who admits to be “slightly or moderately stressed” will
also respond well to treatments and services that primarily
focus on stress reduction, such as therapeutic massage, yoga,
meditation, to name a few.
In order to best engage this young and often digital-savvy
age group, market to them in channels where they are actively
engaged in, whether on the Web through social media, online