During the recession, about a fifth of regular tanning salon customers decided to save money by getting their tans from just around the corner, according to a survey conducted last year – hence the continuing strength of sunbed sales. The technology that ultraviolet tanning booths, or sun beds, use is becoming ever more advanced. The guidelines and regulations that govern their usage are founded on a much more advanced standard of scientific knowledge and research than has ever been the case, and as a result of this customers feel safer, are better informed and thus more responsible.

While the tanning industry did suffer during the recession, the impact of the global economic crisis was less pronounced on the tanning industry than on various other leisure industries, such as catering; while consumers found cooking and eating at home a good way to save the expense of going out, tanning salons, and various associated beauty services, were seen by some as a cheap alternative to a two-week package holiday. As a result, sunbed sales remained strong enough through the credit crunch.

While it may not seem like much of a substitute to the non-artificial tanning enthusiast, we are talking about saving a considerable amount of money, especially when you consider that a holiday means not earning money, or, at the very least, using up annual holiday pay. Ten minutes in a tanning booth can be done during a lunch hour, with plenty of time to spare. But tanning enthusiasts will insist that even a few minutes’ ‘down time’ can have a hugely beneficial effect on their well-being, reducing their stress levels by providing them with a much-needed short rest on a busy day. On top of that, a healthy, natural-looking tan is likely to boost self confidence and self esteem. While many holiday makers would love to spend their weeks off in this country, the unpredictable British weather is the only strong reason that they would opt to go abroad. Tanning booths can’t bring the sun here, but they can offer a healthy dose of vitamin D, and help customers to look and feel more radiant. This is one of the reasons why sunbed sales have remained high.

For beauty salon and gym owners, then, the past year has been a good one, relatively speaking; the use of tanning services across the nation still appears to still be on the rise. However, that is not to say that there are no challenges in the industry. It is itself quite diverse, and there are several effective ways of getting an artificial tan. In other words, it is not simply a question of buying or hiring some random sunbeds and opening for business. Without careful consideration about precisely which tanning services to offer, there is a very real danger of losing much-needed trade. For instance, whether a client prefers to use horizontal sun beds, vertical tanning booths, or spray tanning can depend on skin type, time constraints, and just subjective preference.

Because of this it is vital to be aware of customers’ preferences, rather than just assume that your first installment of equipment and facilities will be able to cater for all preferences. For this reason most salons starting up usually equip their establishment with a proportion of leased equipment, in order to be able to adjust their layout requirements after gaging customer reaction. With sunbed sales looking relatively high, and salons across the country enjoying a steady flow of customers all year round - whether it be as a replacement for their summer sunbathing abroad, or to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder during the dark winter - it can be easy to forget that owning a salon is still a challenging business.