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Holiday shoppers have mostly decided what they want to give, and for a growing share of them the answer is a gift card. The National Retail Federation expects Americans to spend around $29 billion on gift cards this season, with 43% of shoppers planning to buy at least one and half of consumers naming gift cards as something they would be glad to receive. Total holiday spending is on track to pass $1 trillion for the first time.
For a salon, that matters. It is a stretch of about eight weeks when demand for what you already sell turns into cash up front more easily than at any other point in the year. A lot of that money never reaches the businesses that could earn it, though, because the sale slips away at the spot owners watch least: the phone. Here's what the opportunity looks like, and where salons keep losing it.
Gift cards now rank as the second most popular gift of the season, behind only clothing. Shoppers aged 65 and over buy them more than any other age group and plan to spend about $58 per card. People reach for them because they are quick to buy and they let the recipient choose, which is exactly why they sell so well in the final days before a holiday.
A gift card does more for a salon than it does for a department store, and the reason is who walks back through the door to redeem it.
Around 24% of gift card redemptions at salons and spas come from first-time visitors, according to Zenoti's benchmark data. That is a new client who arrives already paid for, with no ad spend behind them. Many of them also spend past the card's value once they are in the chair, and selling cards online on its own can add several thousand dollars a month for a spa. So each card you sell in December is two things at once: money today, and a first appointment you can turn into a regular in January.
Online gift card pages get attention, but for local service businesses the phone is still where high-intent buyers land. BIA/Kelsey estimated that click-to-call activity influences around $1 trillion in US consumer spending, and calls tend to carry more value because the person on the line is ready to buy. Inbound phone leads also convert far more often than web form leads. A caller asking whether you sell gift cards is about as warm as a lead gets.
The problem is how often those calls go nowhere. One study of small businesses found that only about 38% of incoming calls were answered by a live person, while roughly a quarter got no response at all. When a caller can't get through, 85% of them won't try again, and 62% just call a competitor instead. After hours it is worse: about 75% of calls placed outside business hours go to voicemail and never get a callback.
Gift card buying peaks in the last days before the holiday. Stores have long reported a surge around December 23 and 24 as procrastinators look for a fast gift, and payment processors expect the same late spike every year. Those are the exact days your front desk is slammed, your stylists are doing holiday blowouts back to back, and nobody is free to pick up. The buyers who want to hand you money are calling at the one moment you are least able to answer.
None of this needs a bigger team. It mostly comes down to making sure the people who want to buy can reach you and finish the purchase without friction.
Decide who answers gift card calls and how, before December gets loud. If the front desk is tied up with clients, route overflow and after-hours calls to something that always picks up. An AI phone receptionist like Callpad can answer every call, tell the caller the gift card options and prices, and take the sale or send a payment link, even at 9pm on December 23 when the salon is closed. The goal is plain: no gift card buyer ever hits a voicemail.
Plenty of callers want to buy from the parking lot or the couch, not drive over. Give them a way to pay by phone and have the card delivered by text or email, and put a clear 'buy a gift card' link on your website and Google listing. The easier the path, the more cards you sell, especially to the last-minute crowd who picked a gift card because it is fast.
Gift card recipients routinely spend beyond the card balance once they book, so whoever handles the sale should suggest a round amount that covers a popular service rather than a bare minimum. Then get ready for redemption season. Those first-time clients who show up in January with a card in hand are your best shot at building repeat business, so rebook them before they leave the chair.
The holidays hand salons a rare stretch where buyers come looking for you. Answer the phone through it, make paying easy, and a real share of that $29 billion is yours to keep.
