It’s hard to believe we are in full swing into the holiday season, which means a busy gift card season for Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa. After having an unbelievable year, which included our first Canadian acquisition, a new Chief Executive Officer, and expanding our corporate store division, it was only right to end the year with record-breaking gift card sales.
Hand & Stone’s biannual Buy One Get One event happens during Black Friday weekend and Christmas in July. During this promotion, if you purchase one gift card at the guest price, you will receive a one-hour free massage or facial promotional gift card. If you purchase two gift cards at the member price, you will receive a one-hour free massage or facial promotional gift card.
Sebrina Hawkins, Senior Operations Manager, explains the differentiator between this year and previous gift card seasons, “I think what really helped this year were the QR codes and the webstore sales. That really was a big gamechanger.” Matthew Schupbach, who’s been with the company a little over a year as a Regional Operations Manager, agreed with his ops team member, “Previously we weren’t able to do anything webstore centric and now we have an additional revenue stream. It taps into a different type of consumer we haven’t been able to reach before: the ones who prefer to shop from the comfort of their home than face the crowds.”
If you ask any Hand & Stone franchise owner, they will tell you that our support system is like no other franchise system. “This season our entire operations team made a point to visit as many spas as possible to give one-on-one BOGO training ahead of the Black Friday frenzy. We worked alongside owners and spa associates inspecting, correcting, and assisting them to be successful in this promotion,” Schupbach explained. “I never thought I would visit almost 30 spas in one month, but I have to say that was our big driver this year. Our most effective spas were the ones that took our one-on-one guidance and leaned into it with their own creativity and made it their own.” As pictured in the cover image, the Hand & Stone in Clermont Landing, Florida displayed a balloon wreath to draw attention to their BOGO signage, in addition to candy canes around the doorway welcoming in customers.
Hawkins also highlighted the individual spas’ social media presence was more engaging this gift card season. “I was really impressed with how all of the Hand & Stone spas showed up on social media this year, bigger and better than I have ever seen. They are so creative! And that sparks interest in consumers to come in the spa.” Our spa in Oklahoma incorporated the one and only Grinch into their posts and even had him outside of the spa attracting nearby consumers.
We are unbelievably proud of our owners and spa associates for such a lucrative Black Friday weekend! We can’t wait to see what these teams accomplish in 2022 and beyond.
