Salon and wellness services online booking platform, Saspacity, has rolled out its services in Kenya as it targets to tap into the country’s billion shillings beauty industry.
The platform, which has already gone live on Google Play Store, seeks to connect salons, barbershops, stylists, and professionals providing beauty and other health and wellness services and products to clients seeking services.
With over 400 salons, 1800 styles, and 2000 unique haircare and wellness services, Saspacity will allow clients to search and discover beauty services/parlors, explore the latest styles, compare prices, get reviews, check out discounts and offers from different salons and book beauty appointments online. It works in the same way one would prefer to use Uber or Lyft as opposed to hailing a cab. Customers can seek out stylists online for manicures, blowouts, and even spa services like facials.
According to Ernest Were, a co-founder, one can book a slot for the desired service online and show up at the salon or book a slot with a freelancing stylist to deliver the service at their location, minimizing movement as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘We have included an e-wallet, which allows clients to credit their wallet via M-PESA before they make bookings. This is convenient because then they can always book a service at a later date without the worry of spending the set money for grooming on other things,” Were explained.
Saspacity was started to help hairstylists in Kenya, most of whom may not be tech-savvy, don’t have adequate access to schedule management, custom statistics, and online booking software, as well as those who do not have the expertise nor the capital to market themselves.
“According to research we conducted on salons in the Kenyatta market, Umoja, Kamukunji, and Nairobi CBD, we found out that the average wait time for someone to be served was 50 minutes and during that time, customers walk away. Similarly, our findings showed that more than 50% of clients struggle to find information on beauty styling from a variety of services offered, their pricing, the best place to get them, as a result, the majority of them end up settling for less than they could get. With Saspacity, everything is now centralized and both the buyer and the seller can walk away satisfied,” he said
The platform targets those aged between 18 and 50 with a variety of services including all beauty services in the categories of hair (braiding, weaving, dreadlocks, hair styling), spa and massage, tattooing and piercing, men grooming (haircut, beard shaving, to name a few), nails, manicure, pedicure and beauty, and wellness products.
The prices are competitive with braids ranging from Ksh.500 to Ksh.3000 depending on the braid style, salon, and location; and nails from Ksh.150 to Ksh.4500 depending on style, salon, and location.
With Beauty & Personal Care Industry being one of the fastest-growing industries in Kenya, evidenced by the 400% growth in the last four years from Ksh 26 billion in 2015 to over Ksh 100 billion in 2019, Saspacity’s inception is hoped to a success. The unprecedented effect of COVID-19 on businesses is also set to catapult the platform since many people are shifting to home services to reduce risks of exposure. The pilot region for the launch is Nairobi with hopes to expand broadly into the African market.
