Extra extra: how to cash in on the spa accessories market

Pool & Spa News, June 20, 2005 by Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn

When Jeff Black browses around competitors' spa showrooms, he is often surprised at what he sees. Or rather, what he doesn't.

"There's one thing I often notice," says Black of California Home Spas & Patio, based in Cerritos, Calif. "These other guys have an unbelievably small amount of space dedicated to accessories, the highest profit margin item in the store."

Furthermore, they're missing out, Black asserts. Industry retailers who stock an array of add-on items say these specialty products occupy a vital niche in their showrooms. In fact, the accessories leave their stores just as quickly as the portable spas themselves.

These store owners cite numerous reasons for the products' success. For one, spa accessories have as great an impact on profit margins as do spas am] chemicals.

The sale of these items can be crucial to keeping a business afloat, dealers say. Their markup can account for at least a 50- to 100 percent take on most items. And when it comes to the bottom line, accessory merchandise accounts for at least 15- to 35 percent of overall sales.

"You can get an awful lot of spa accessories in the space of one or two spas," Black notes. "We have dedicated a relatively large area to spa chemicals, filters, replacement items and fun things, and we do unbelievably well with them. We pay our rent with that stuff."

Siding up to the sidelines

Customers are seeking products that not only will heighten their soaking enjoyment, but also enhance the spas' aesthetic appeal. These days sideline items run the gamut, encompassing everything from steps, lifts, spaside planters, side-mounted bars and towel racks to candies, fragrances, waterproof playing cards and other novelty items.

Accessories are just as important as the spa in your customers' overall satisfaction, according to Rick Campbell, general manager of Your Back Yard, a three-store Oregon franchise in the cities of Portland, Tigard and Salem.

Campbell's customers look for variety as well as upscale options. "Not only are they buying different types of accessories," he says, "but they're buying more expensive accessories." High-ticket items such as gazebos and LED lighting are just two of his many popular items.

"We would have never have dreamed of selling a light for $125, but they're [purchasing] them," he notes. "A lot of these floating checkerboards and things are $50 and $60 each ... and they're absolutely buying them."

Like many retailers, Campbell continually searches for new products. He pays as much attention to customer requests and feedback as he does his own data of past sales to decide which items he'll feature from season to season.

"If they need it, we should sell it to them," he says. "They're going to buy the stuff, regardless. The big thing is getting them to buy it from you."

Boosting sales

To maximize their add-on sales, top retailers implement a variety of strategies. Their suggestions, featured below, allow them to take their spa accessory sales beyond the basic impulse buy:

* Place in prominent positions.

The trickiest thing about selling accessories is that most customers don't know they need them until they see them, says Black who gives prime shelf space to the items throughout his showroom. It's best to locate them primarily in the front of the store, where they'll catch the customer's eye.

Leave necessity items in less attractive places. "The chlorine and bromine are in the worst possible location," Black adds. "To get to them, you've got to walk past the pillows, the thermometers, the cleaning supplies, the skimmer nets and the spa vacuums. That was absolutely done on purpose."

To avoid what he calls, "tunnel vision," Campbell regularly changes the look of his store, often putting staple products next to new, eye-catching accessory items.

* Create package deals.

Holidays offer the biggest opportunities to push accessories. "Depending on the time of year, like Father's Day, we will package more of the maintenance-related items such as scrub brushes or polishes," Campbell notes. "Then we use those filter soak buckets and make sort of a basket out of it. It looks good and is a great way to sell things."

* Go beyond the usual.

The purchasing influence of women over major household buys has long been touted in research studies and marketing journals. So when Harry Barnes recently opened Indulge Yourself Spas & Body Care, he wanted to appeal to women's needs by highlighting body-care and day-spa products.

"Women's influence on the purchase of a spa is probably better than 80 percent," Barnes says. "Any smart man knows he's gotta keep his wife happy if he's going to be happy, so in that same way, we've tried to make our spa experience [in the store] more like a day-spa experience at home."

Accentuating the mood in the showroom with warm colors, plants and candles, he does brisk business with everything from natural scrubs to face masks, body oils, salts and all kinds of creams, which he often packages in gift sets for holidays and special occasions.

Unlike other accessories sold at the Riverside, Calif., firm, these particular items have their own place in the store. "Our spa accessories are in a dedicated spot," Barnes says. "We wanted to make it feel different from the rest of the store ... like its own little boutique.