29 SEPTEMBER 2010: For the one-in-two Australian women and one-in-five Australian men who believe their hair and beauty treatments are important, their next appointment is only a click away with the launch of the nation’s premier online hair and beauty directory and booking site, mylocalsalon.com.au.
Responding to the growing importance Australians place on hair and beauty services, Shortcuts Software today officially launched mylocalsalon.com.au – a revolutionary website which enables customers to search and book appointments in real-time wherever and whenever they like.
Offering the ultimate in convenience and technology, mylocalsalon visitors can search the directory according to business, service, location and price, then place appointments directly into a salon’s appointment book, and receive immediate booking confirmation. mylocalsalon also features a free iPhone application, exclusive mylocalsalon specials and in the future, GPS-tracked SMS communication.
Global CEO of mylocalsalon and Shortcuts Software Rebecca Randle said that hair and beauty treatments are increasingly perceived as a necessity by many Australians.
“Understandably, most Australian women consider certain health checks to be important, but it is interesting to see that more than half of all Australian women believe hair and beauty treatments are important too.
“The research indicates men are showing promise in the personal grooming department but they may still need some encouragement from the women in their lives!” she said.
Ms Randle said not only will mylocalsalon support the growth of the Australian hair and beauty salon industry with its centralised online directory; it also embraces the rapidly developing phenomenon of online purchasing and booking.
“Gone are the days of waiting for business hours and making a phone call to book an appointment. Today consumers enjoy and expect the convenience of selecting services and products, and booking appointments with the click of a mouse, anytime and anywhere,” said Ms Randle.
“Google reports that every month in Australia over 170,000 online searches for hair and beauty services are being submitted. So there is clear demand for a central online directory like mylocalsalon which gives salons the opportunity to benefit from an online presence and also provides a simple 24/7 appointment booking solution.
“The extraordinary growth of online bookings in the Australian hair and beauty industry can be evidenced by a sample of Shortcuts Software customers,” explained Ms Randle.
From August 2009 to July 2010, the number of Shortcuts salons and spas offering online bookings increased by 247 per cent. In the same period, 305 Shortcuts salons and spas received more than 25,000 online bookings generating an estimated $1.89 million in revenue (based on an average spend of $75 per booking).
Ms Randle said the convenience of mylocalsalon was further enhanced by the free iPhone application which enables users to find the nearest salon to their current location.
“Another incentive to use mylocalsalon is its exclusive discounts and specials function which delivers the latest salon and spa deals to members’ inboxes on a daily basis. So you can find the best salons and spas at the best price right now!” Ms Randle said.
“mylocalsalon is set to become the TrueLocal and Wotif of the Australian hair and beauty services industry,” she said.
mylocalsalon.com.au has launched with several hundred Australian hair and beauty salons and spas with the number of businesses expected to grow quickly.
mylocalsalon.com.au was simultaneously launched today amongst the rapidly growing hair loving online community of Heart Your Hair which has attracted over 5,900 fans in just three months. To become a fan of Heart Your Hair visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heart-Your-Hair.
For further information please visit www.mylocalsalon.com.au or www.shortcuts.com.au, or, start searching for a Gold Coast hairdresser, beauty salon, tanning salon, nail parlour or day spa today!
About Shortcuts Salon and Spa Software:
Shortcuts Software provides top-level software to salons and spas across the world. Created, designed and developed in Australia, Shortcuts Software solutions are available in nine languages to over 12,000 clients in 45 countries. Shortcuts offers software solutions for enterprise, franchises and single-site businesses and has the largest R&D team in the hair and beauty software industry in Australia.