With national retail to service averages for salons hovering at 7 percent and most owners working to reach levels of 15 to 20 percent, Vito Mazza, owner of Vito Mazza Salon and Spa in Woodbridge, New Jersey, always is seeking creative ways to inspire higher sales. When he saw how a local company, Metroclick, was using technology to connect customers to brands, he jumped on board to pilot a program for the professional salon industry.

Since the beginning of the year, Mazza has hosted an interactive kiosk, which resembles a giant iPad, in his retail area and used it to quiz clients about their beauty needs and match them to recommended products. Recently, he worked with Matrix to leverage the kiosk to support the Biolage reinvention by inviting clients to take the Biolage BioMatch quiz. The quiz asked clients a series of questions about their hair texture and top styling concerns, then provided them with recommendations for cleansing, styling and finishing products. To encourage clients to participate and also enter in their name and email information, Mazza offered them a chance to win a $500 Vito Mazza gift card or a $200 Biolage gift basket. After completing the quiz, the participants received an emailed list of the Biolage recommendations.

“We realized we could be more interactive with retail by incorporating this technology,” Mazza says. “Touch-screen technology is becoming a more accepted retail practice, and we’ve been working hard with manufacturers to come up with promotions that tie it together and make it a consumer experience.”

The kiosk helped the launch of reinvented Biolage line at the salon outperform last year’s sales by 70 percent. In addition to creating a fun experience in the retail area, the quiz had the added benefit of initiating a dialogue about the line between stylists and their guests.

Mazza believes retailers are just scratching the service of what the technology can do. “In the next few months, the kiosk tablets will have cameras on them, allowing clients to capture their own before and after images and sharing them with both their social sites and the salons. Then, we’ll really have some fun.”

CLICK! To learn more about Metroclick, visit Metroclick.com or call 646-843-0888.