RESEARCH ROUND-UP: ASIA
SPA CONSUMER TRENDS As well as gaining insights from spa managers, the 2014 Spa Industry Study focused on the preferences and habits of 295 spa-goers. Most questions were presented in a multiple-choice format, with survey respondents indicating how often they to do something, or how they rated things on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being least often or poor). On average, the spa-goers surveyed
had visited a spa seven times in the previous 12 months with the most fre- quented kind of facility being a massage shop (similar to a small salon offering only massage therapies) followed by a day spa and hotel spa. Unsurprisingly, data showed that most
consumers go to a spa at the weekend, but if operators are to drum up off-peak business they might want to target male customers who are more likely to visit a spa in the week than females. And over- all, the most popular time slots are late afternoon (3-6pm) and evening (6-8pm). Relaxation remains the primary reason for visiting a spa in Thailand, the study
and beauty is also an important reason for going to a spa for locals and tourists. In comparison, expatriates value detox treatments far more than locals and tourists. And spa managers rate expatri- ates as the most important target market for their business, followed by locals and then (transient) tourists. The three types of treatments that
Men are more likely to visit a spa in the week than women
found. Rewarding or spoiling oneself, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and health issues are the three purposes for going to a spa that came in a close second. However, there are differences between
the consumer groups. Women usually visit a spa for beauty and slimming treatments
consumers try most often in Thai spas are Thai massage, foot massage and aromatherapy massage, respectively. Proportionately, tourists are much more likely to opt for signature treatments than any other customer group and there’s a probability that they’ll select longer treatments too. As part of the study, spa-goers were
asked how much they were likely to spend on their visit. The most popular category was THB750-THB1,500 (US$23-US$46, €18-€37, £14-£29) which 31 per cent of the respondents picked, followed by THB1,501-THB3,000 (US$46-US$91, €37-€73, £29-£58) which 18.8 per cent of customers chose. When buying products, it’s no surprise
Graph 1: What Consumers Want to See from Thai Spas in 2015*
Greater respect for traditional treatments Spa décor to be refurbished
Spa facilities to be improved or expanded Healthy food / spa cuisine options Discounts for repeat customers
Treatments or packages to be customised *Source: Thailand’s 2014 Spa Industry Study, Stenden Rangsit University 78 SPA BUSINESS HANDBOOK 2015 42% 20.3% 37.3% 29.8%
46.4% 46.1%
that price remains the most important consideration for all customer types. But after that, the top priorities are natural ingredients, organic ingredients and having a recognised brand.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS In its conclusion, the 2014 Spa Industry Study asked spa-goers about their expec- tations when visiting spas in Thailand in the future. More discounts on treatments and packages to reward loyalty/repeat customers was the top request, very closely followed by the desire for more customised treatments or packages (see Graph 1). Next on the list was an expectation for spas in Thailand to have
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