Last-minute buyers boost sales at Spa Emergency

During the holiday shopping season e-retailer Spa Emergency sold $2 million in gift certificates to spas across the nation: 60% of holiday sales came in the week before Christmas; 84% of gift certificates were printed and mailed while 16% were e-mailed, the pure-play web merchant reports.

Regardless of theme or motif, more spas are offering ways to purchase their services online, says Bill Bice, founder of Spa Emergency. “SpaEmergency.com makes it possible to buy a gift to a spa near the recipient-from choosing just the right spa and services to choosing a gift certificate to personalizing and then sending it,” Bice says.

55% of gift certificates were for services and had an average value of $110 each; 45% of gift certificates were for dollar amounts and had an average value of $103 each, the e-retailer reports.

Spa Emergency offers gift certificates to 700 spas throughout the United States. The merchant’s target audience, it says, is the vast number of men who tend to wait until the last moment to buy gifts.