The Salon Industry is Celebrating Some Highs After a Year of Lows

There’s a reason for the salon industry to celebrate: Retail product sales were up in the first quarter of 2021.

While it might be tempting to downplay gains following 2020’s pandemic-related lows, it’s important to remember that the majority of Q1 2020 was “normal.” According to Kline PRO USA, salon retail product sales in January and February of 2020 were indexing just slightly ahead of 2019; it was only the latter part of March that affected quarterly results. This year, meanwhile, started off with a bang, as the care categories of conditioners, shampoos, and treatments posted double-digit growth.

While products for color care remained the most in-demand, several other product benefits reached pre-COVID levels during the first quarter of this year. And despite the interruptions of 2020, business, albeit not at the usual pace, did go on. Product launches continued, and not just by legacy brands ― more than 100 brands made their first appearances in the Kline PRO USA database in 2020. Two of the top new brands were launched by Henkel: STMNT and Authentic Beauty Concept, the latter of which is already among the top 100 brands reported in our database.

Repair/Condition

The popularity of bond-building products shows no signs of slowing down. The undisputed leader in this segment is Olaplex, but other brands have entered the market, providing consumers with a wider array of choices. Bonding products that were new in the Q1 2021 Kline PRO USA database include the following:

Moisturizing

Hydrating/moisturizing hair gained renewed focus thanks to the “skinification of hair” trend. Top-selling products in this segment are as follows:

Clarifying

Like moisturizing, clarifying is a key step in the skinification process, as consumers like to periodically deep clean or detoxify their hair from impurities or residues left from other products. These clarifying shampoos had notable sales levels in the first quarter:

Thinning Hair

In-salon treatments for thinning hair have seen an increase in demand, and that has translated into more interest in products for at-home use.  Product lines that saw revenues returning to previous levels include the following:

The salon market is not yet fully recovered. While overall product sales are up 5.7%, service revenues were still down 9.4% versus Q1 YAG. As our recent blog noted, clients are returning to salons at promising levels that, if continued, could put the industry back on track. For quarterly updates on salon retail products and services that will benchmark progress as the professional salon industry works to return to normal, check out Kline PRO USA and Canada.