The salon industry bounces back with tech
The salon industry was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2020 statistics, there are now 38,803 establishments engaged in personal services for wellness in the Philippines — a big decline as opposed to 41,270 establishments in 2019.
The number of employees of establishments under this industry also drastically went down from 151,665 in 2019 to 143,239 in 2020. And while many of us have honed our DIY skills over the past two years, the relaxation element is just not there.
Just like the restaurant industry’s pivot into food delivery services with the help of tech, Parlon, an online platform to book and buy beauty and wellness services in the Philippines, rises to the challenge.
Through Parlon, portmanteau of the retro term “parlor” and the more modern “salon,” Claire Ongcangco, Parlon CEO and founder, says: “We want to bring that feeling of community that parlors are known for.”
“We are offering a wonderful beauty and wellness lifestyle and not just an app or a website. It has always been our mission to revolutionize the beauty and wellness services industry,” she adds.
“Now that lockdown restrictions are easing up, we’d like to take this as an opportunity to help salons regain the glory they lost in the past year and also provide a beautiful, easy-to-use platform that will make self-care services accessible to all Filipinos.”
To this end, Parlon launches the first Parlon Beauty Festival, ongoing now until Jan. 8, 2022 where you can avail of discounts up to 60 percent off and save as much as P15,000.
Thirty salons and wellness centers including global brands Browhaus, Strip, and Blo as well as celebrity favorites Emphasis Salon, Creations by Lourd Ramos, The Secret Lounge, The Color Bar, Bellezza Aesthetics and Marqed Salon are participating in the festival. Homegrown beauty salons and wellness centers in Pampanga, Pangasinan, Bacolod, and Cebu are also joining the event.
Perfect for the holidays, e-vouchers can also be purchased as gifts and recipients will conveniently be notified via email and SMS.
Founded in 2019 as a way to streamline the way customers discover establishments, as well as the way appointments, are booked, displaying the menu of services and available schedules through the iOS app and website (Android is coming soon) at a glance, salons, and wellness centers are then equipped with a Merchant Partner Hub, an easy-to-use software specially designed and developed by Parlon to manage all the bookings and deal transactions using Parlon's platform and cloud-based Software-as-a-Service solutions.
Customers can then pay through credit/debit cards and major e-wallets including GCash and GrabPay. Soon, Buy-Now-Pay-Later methods will be available.
For more information about the Parlon Beauty Festival, visit beautyfestival.parlon.ph.