‘tis the season – for the Top 10 Spa Trends of 2018!
Yep. While everyone else is thinking about presents and reindeer and fat men in red PJs, all I’m thinking is Spa Trends.
You see, every year, around about this time, the mainstream media likes to jump on any story about what’s happening in the new year. Food Trends, Fashion Trends, Tech Trends, etc. You name the industry, there’s a 2018 Trends list coming soon! And yes, you’re sure to see a few Spa Trends for 2018 too.
Trend vs Fads
But are these really trends, or are they fads?
Trends, by definition, evolve over time and tend to hang around for a while. Fads, on the other hand, seem to appear out of nowhere and go back there just a quickly. So, to my way of thinking, the Top 20 Spa Trends of 2018, should share at least a few trends in common with the Top 20 Spa Trends of 2017. The Number 12 Spa Trend of 2017, for example, might have now climbed up to Number 3 on the 2018 Spa Trends list. Or maybe it slipped to Number 19 on next year’s list. Invariably, however, what we see each year is a completely new list of trends. Which, to me, means most of these might just be fads, not trends.
Investing in Fads
Does it really matter if we call it a fad or a trend? Not really. As long as we’re just using these Trend Reports more as something for us to consider, to keep in mind, rather than take direct action on. But I have seen situations where a spa has gone out and invested in equipment and inventory to capitalize on a so-called trend. Six months later, this trend turned out to be just a fad, sales plummeted and the spa was left holding the empty Christmas stocking – to continue with our seasonal theme. 😉
The Real Trends
For me, the trends that really matter, are the ones that go across spa lines. Mental Wellness, for example, is a topic that I am hearing regularly in all sorts of industries. This is not a discussion being had exclusively in spa and wellness circles. Consequently, I would be comfortable declaring Mental Wellness to be a trend, not a fad. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality would probably qualify by these standards too. Although I firmly believe that we’re still a long way from meaningful applications of this technology in the spa space.
What’s your Number 1 Spa Fad and Number 1 Spa Trend for 2018?
