How Does Your Salon Stack Up? A Benchmarking Guide
There is a question almost every salon owner thinks about but rarely says out loud.
“Am I doing well? Compared to other salons, is my business actually performing?”
It is a natural question. You can see your own numbers clearly enough. But without something to compare them against, those numbers float in a vacuum. You don’t know if your client retention is strong or weak. You don’t know if your average service value is competitive. You don’t know if the gap between your best operator and your lowest performer is typical or a red flag.
Benchmarking answers that question – and Simple Salon has it built directly into your reporting dashboard.
What is benchmarking and why does it matter?
Benchmarking compares your salon’s performance against similar salons in the Simple Salon network. It isn’t a vague industry average pulled from a report. It’s live data from businesses that run on the same platform you do, with similar structures, similar services, and similar client bases.
That makes the comparison meaningful.
When you see that your rebooking rate is 38%, that number alone tells you something. But when you see that the benchmark for salons your size is 48%, you now have a target. You know there is a gap. You know what closing that gap could mean for your revenue.
That’s the shift benchmarking creates. It moves you from “how are we doing?” to “how are we doing relative to what is possible?”
What the benchmarking report shows
Inside Simple Salon, the Benchmarking section of your Reporting Dashboard compares your salon across several key performance areas.
Revenue per client visit. This tells you the average amount a client spends each time they visit your salon. If the benchmark is higher than yours, the opportunity is usually in service upgrades, retail recommendations, or treatment add-ons. Small increases here compound quickly across hundreds of visits.
Rebooking rate. How many of your clients rebook before they leave or shortly after their appointment? This is one of the most important retention metrics in the industry. The best-performing salons track this number every week and act on it.
Retail to service revenue ratio. Retail sales are one of the most underutilised revenue streams in salon businesses. The benchmarking report shows you how your retail proportion compares to other salons – and whether there’s room to grow it.
Visit frequency. How often is the average client visiting your salon each year? If your clients are visiting less frequently than the benchmark, that could reflect a gap in communication, rebooking processes, or the range of services you’re offering.
How to use your benchmarking results
The goal isn’t to be distressed by any gap you find. The goal is to use it.
A few ways salon owners use their benchmarking data well:
Prioritise where to focus. If every metric is within range except retail, that tells you where the effort should go. You don’t have to improve everything at once.
Set team targets with context. Instead of saying “we need to sell more retail,” you can say “the benchmark for salons our size is 15% retail to service revenue. We’re at 9%. Here’s what we’re going to try.” That kind of specificity lands differently with a team.
Track progress over time. Come back to the benchmarking report monthly. Not to compare yourself to others, but to track whether your own numbers are moving. The benchmark gives you the direction. Your progress gives you the motivation.
Have better conversations with your accountant or business advisor. “We’re below benchmark on revenue per visit” is a more useful starting point than “I feel like we could be doing better.” Benchmarks give your instincts a language.
A note on benchmarking and perspective
It’s worth saying clearly: being below benchmark in any area isn’t a failure. Most salons are below benchmark in something. The businesses that close the gap are the ones that know where it is.
And being above benchmark somewhere is worth acknowledging. If your rebooking rate is well above average, that’s a genuine competitive strength. Your team is doing something right. Recognising that – and understanding why – helps you protect it.
Benchmarking isn’t a report card. It’s a navigation tool. It tells you where you are on the map so you can decide where you want to go.
Where to find it
Log into Simple Salon and open your Reporting Dashboard. The Benchmarking section is inside your Business Insights tools. If you haven’t explored it before, give yourself ten minutes this week.
You might be closer to the top than you think. Or you might find one number worth working on. Either way, you’ll leave knowing more than you did.
That is what the data is for.
See how your salon stacks up – open your Benchmarking report inside Simple Salon.
Open your Benchmarking report in Simple Salon. Explore Reporting →