Why Cheap Prices Might Be Hurting Your Salon Business

Quick answer: Cheap prices can hurt a salon because they signal lower quality, attract clients who are rarely loyal and leave too little money to invest in training, products and the client experience. The way to grow is to know exactly who your ideal client is, deliver an experience worth paying for, and price for the value you give.

Would you choose the cheapest restaurant?

Have you ever thought about the damage regular offers might be doing to your business?

Imagine you are away for the weekend or on holiday. It is time to eat, and that familiar question comes up: where shall we go? When you make that choice, do you say "let's find the cheapest place"? I have, once or twice on a trip with friends, but that is another story.

Most of the time, you think about what you fancy. You look at what has great ratings and reviews. If you really want a particular kind of food, you look for somewhere that specialises in it. And when you walk past the cheapest place in town, I doubt you ignore how it looks and go in just because of the price.

To be completely honest, I normally avoid the cheapest places, because I make assumptions. I assume they do not use good ingredients, that the service will be poor and that standards will not be high. I assume they do not value what they do. I love a bargain, and the cheapest is not always bad, just as the most expensive does not guarantee value. But price tells me what to expect before I have even walked in.

I wrote the first version of this post on a flight, and airlines are the perfect example. Whenever I choose the cheapest budget airline to save money, I usually regret it.

And here is a confession that slightly undoes my point. One Christmas in London, I treated myself to a few items from Harrods instead of doing a big supermarket shop. They did not actually taste as good as the ones I bought from Marks and Spencer. But I saw them as the ultimate treat, so I still felt a little smug eating them. That is the power of perceived value, and our clients feel it too.

Who do low prices attract?

You will always have clients looking for a bargain, and many of them are lovely people. But very often they are not your ideal client. They are rarely looking to be loyal and tend to move from salon to salon as the offers change. They are not searching for quality, so they may not value what makes you special.

Price is a big part of how clients choose. Phorest's 2025 Consumer Insights Report found that price and location are the biggest factors when clients pick a new salon. But the same research found that only 29% of new clients return after their first visit. Winning a client with a low price is easy. Keeping them is where the real value lies, and that comes from the experience, not the discount.

Invest in being worth it

If you are not hitting the mark, you have two choices: be the place people visit because it is cheap, or keep getting better. I have been in the industry since 1996, and I still do several courses a year. I go to as many events as I can and I am always watching for what is changing. My clients deserve that from me, just as they deserve the best products, not cheap, unregulated ones bought online.

Know exactly who your ideal client is

Your first step is working out who your ideal client really is. Not just "people aged 30 to 50", but a detailed picture. Where do they eat? What do they do for work? How do they spend their money and their free time? Are you aiming for a niche, such as clients who love advanced skincare or specialist grooming?

Give that client a full profile, then use it in everything you do: the photos you post, the words you use and the people you attract to your page. Most of your marketing should be speaking directly to them.

A moment of honesty: it is probably not your prices

Here is a brutal reality. If you are not busy, it is rarely because you are too expensive. My salon is in an area where disposable income is not especially high, yet we are one of the more expensive salons around. When clients really want your services, they find a way.

And the cost of running a salon has gone up for everyone. In the NHBF's April 2025 survey of UK hair and beauty businesses, a record 74% had raised their prices. Pricing for your true costs is not greed. It is how you stay in business and keep delivering the standard your clients expect.

So look honestly at your business. Is your service worth what you need to charge? What is the full experience, from the moment a client finds you to the moment they leave? What could you improve?

The flip side is just as honest. High prices have to be earned. Just like restaurants, the experience and the results need to match the price. Clients deserve value, whatever they pay.

An offer will not fix a quiet diary

Something else I have learned: if we are quiet, an offer will not fix it. We are just quiet. I have put on offers to fill a day and give our clients a treat, and the result was usually the odd booking and not much more. If clients are not coming in, a discount rarely changes that. Read why your salon might feel quiet for what does.

One of my team once pointed out that a local salon was charging a third of our price for gel polish on hands and toes. My reply? Great. They will do three times the work for the same money. We can use that extra time for marketing, training, creating content and improving what we offer. It is a win for us and a win for our clients.

Final thoughts

As hard as it is, try to tune out the doom on social media and the news, and look honestly at what you are doing. Are you using every resource you have? Are you the first choice for your ideal client? If not, how could you be?

People still have money, and they are still spending. Some salons are closing, and some are thriving. The difference is rarely the price. For a deeper look at pricing, read the pricing trap, and make sure your deposit and cancellation policy protects your time.

FAQs

Should my salon compete on price?

Rarely. Very low prices signal lower quality and attract clients who are less likely to stay. Compete on experience, results and expertise instead.

Do salon offers bring in bookings?

They can bring the odd booking, but they rarely fix a quiet diary or build loyalty.

How do I know if my prices are too low?

If your prices do not cover your true costs, training and time, or you are attracting clients who rarely return, they are probably too low.

Why do new clients not come back?

Phorest's 2025 research found only 29% of new salon clients return after their first visit, so the experience you give matters more than the price you charge.