As a barbershop or salon owner, you may naturally focus on filling every appointment slot. However, a healthy business isn't just client volume—it’s the Average Ticket Value (ATV). Increasing your ATV means your business is maximizing revenue without having to work longer hours or drastically increase your client base. It’s the smart way to boost profitability.
Increasing the average bill is a challenge, but it is achievable by shifting your focus from volume to value. This strategy allows you to charge more for hair services by delivering a superior, comprehensive experience.
Let’s talk about the 5 Proven Strategies that Hair Salons and Barbers can implement today to systematically increase their ATV.
Before you can increase your ATV, you need to understand it. The Average Ticket Value represents the mean amount each client spends per visit, combining all services and retail purchases.
You can calculate your Average Ticket Value with a quick, simple formula:
ATV= Total Revenue/Number of Clients Served
Chasing high client volume leads to burnout, rushing services, and higher operational costs like laundry, products, and utilities. Increasing your ATV means that you make more money during the same time frame, allowing you to pay your staff better, invest in premium education, and reduce stress.
The easiest way to increase the average bill is to package related services together, making the upsell a natural part of a complete treatment.
Instead of listing services a-la-carte, create predefined, value-driven packages.
Train your team to automatically recommend low-cost, high-value add-ons during the service.
Retail sales often represent 10-20% of a successful salon’s revenue and are the most direct way to increase the average bill in a salon or barbershop.
Clients trust their stylist more than any online review. The secret is to shift the focus from selling to solving a problem.
Make retail easy to find and buy. Place the highest-margin items near your checkout area. Use your Booksy software to display retail items prominently. When checking out a client, the system can prompt the team member to ask, "Would you like the styling wax we used today?"
Avoid having all your staff priced the same. Your most skilled and in-demand stylists should charge more for hair services to reflect their expertise and demand.
Introduce a transparent tiered pricing structure based on seniority, experience, and demand:
Clients are often willing to pay a premium to book with your Master Stylists, directly helping to increase your salon’s average ticket without raising the base price for everyone.
For custom color work (e.g., balayage, color corrections), price the service primarily by the estimated time needed, plus the cost of materials. This ensures you are always compensated fairly for complex services and prevents undercharging for labor.
While rebooking impacts the client’s lifetime value (CLV), it secures a higher volume of transactions overall, which supports your long-term Average Ticket Value.
You can only justify higher prices if the client perceives a higher value. Investing in the experience justifies the cost and makes clients happy to pay a premium.
Little touches make a huge difference:
Use the new client consultation (as discussed in our previous guide) to identify additional needs. If a client books a simple haircut but their consultation reveals severe dryness, you have a professional, needs-based reason to recommend the conditioning add-on.
Increasing your salon’s average ticket is about smart strategy, not just raising prices. By implementing service bundling, focusing on retail sales, utilizing tiered pricing, and elevating the client experience, both Hair Salons and Barbers can significantly boost their profitability per client.
Ready to gain the insights and tools needed to effortlessly track and manage your average ticket, services, and inventory?
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Use the simple formula: Total Revenue ÷ Number of Clients Served. This gives you the average spend per visit, including both services and retail.
More clients mean higher operational costs (laundry, utilities, products) and a higher risk of staff burnout. Raising your ATV allows you to make more money in the same amount of time with lower overhead.
Don't wait until the end. Identify a hair "need" during the consultation, use the product during the service so they see the result, and mention it again at checkout as the secret to maintaining their new look.
It allows you to keep base prices accessible with "New Talent" while maximizing revenue from "Master Stylists" who are in high demand. It gives clients options and creates a clear career path for your staff.
These are services like scalp massages, bond treatments, or beard conditioning. They take very little extra time or product but significantly enhance the client's experience and your final ticket.
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