M0NEY MATERS
BY CASSIE SAMPSON
Delivering the Spa
Experience Through
Online Retail
FOR YEARS, MY SPA in Des Moines,
Iowa—East Village Spa—wanted to
create a simple online store. Out-oftown
guests needed an easier way to
restock their skin care, and regulars
wanted a convenient way to ship their
favorite products as gifts. But until
COVID-19 forced the spa to close for
three months, the prospect of
transitioning our large gift shop
online seemed too daunting.
As a licensed massage therapist
myself, the moment I decided to close,
my first priority was to ensure my
employees were situated. My second
priority was to make our online
boutique a reality so we could ensure
that, at minimum, we would have a
way to pay our rent without draining
our savings and serve our guests in
some capacity.
Without day-to-day spa distractions,
our spa director, Kelly Parker, dedicated
all of her time to opening
shopeastvillagespa.com using a
Shopify site. Within two weeks of
temporarily closing our doors, East
Village Spa was doing great business
entirely online. The web store instantly
generated income and buzz. East
Village Spa has been a staple in the
Des Moines’ community since 2008, and
our devoted fans wanted to show
East Village Spa had great success setting up its online retail
simply by taking quality photos and videos with an iPhone.
36 PULSE ■ SEPTEMBER 2020