Beauty has always been about instant gratification. The beauty professionals’ serving on-door is no longer a privilege reserved only just for celebrities. “Ubers for beauty” has readily become available; thanks to the growing number of on-demand beauty apps such as Glamsquad, Priv, Vênsette and Soothe based in the US, summoning hair stylists, make-up artists, and masseuses. Just a simple swipe on your smartphone and the service person is available on your doorstep.

The stakeholders in the on-demand beauty space are salon chains, individual salons, stylists, freelance makeup artists and entrepreneurs. The hike in on-demand sector due to the provision of sheer convenience and comfort of homes has witnessed tremendous growth of online salon services.

Features of “On-demand Beauty Apps”

Customer App

• User Registration: Easy authentication process.
• Sign Up/login: Easy sign up and login option from social media channels, email id or phone no.
• View Salons: Customers can view list of salons registered in the app.
• Select Salons/stylist: Select the nearest salon or stylist in the area.
• View Profile: View full profile of the salon with its available timings, contact details, ratings and reviews.
• Book an Appointment: Customers can easily book the appointment from “Book Now” button.
• Make Payment: Easy payment transfer to the selected beauty salon through credit/debit cards, mWallet and net banking.
• Chat with The Stylist: Customers can chat with the stylists regarding the timings, service charges, explaining address or any other concern.
• Rate & Review: Customers can check the ratings and reviews of the individual salons.
• View History: Customers can check the history of the appointments booked, check upcoming appointments or schedules.
• View Subscription Packages: Customers can view different beauty packages and the ongoing offers on them and subscribe them.
• Push Notifications: Send push notifications for reminding customers about their appointments, offers, deals, coupons etc.

Salon/Stylist App

• Register: Salons or stylists can register from social media channels, email id or phone no.
• View User Request: The salon owners can view the users’ request and as per the type of service requested by the user, salon owner can assign the stylist for the service request.
• Accept/decline User Request: After viewing the user requests, salon owners or stylists have full liberty to accept or decline the requests.
• Manage Services: The salon owners can manage their own service section. They can add/update/delete the services offered as per the stylists’ availability or user requirements.
• Manage Catalog: Salon owners can manage their own catalog and choose to display their specialties, expertise from the range of services in the beauty space.
• Schedule Appointments: Salon owners can set their own timings, appointments availability, and showcase in their profile.
• Schedule Stylists: Once the user make successful request, salon owner can schedule the stylist to fulfill the users’ request at doorsteps.
• Manage Costs: Salon owners/stylists have the full liberty to manage the costs of the services they provide anytime.

Admin Panel

• Dashboard: Admin dashboard where Admin can have a full view on no. of salons registered in the app, total no. of users, ongoing services etc.
• Manage Salons: Admin can add, update, and delete salons/stylists from their list.
• Manage Users: Admin can add, update, and delete users from the app. View their contact information and broadcast messages.
• Payment: Admin can view total earnings, no. of transactions, and all payment related information.
• App Marketing: Admin can handle all the marketing related activities, manage deals, offers, coupons, advertise etc.

Advanced features

• Blogging
• eCommerce
• Mark visibility of salons (Away/Available)
• Vlogs (beauty related videos)

Technology Stack

• Database: MySQL, MongoDB, Postgress, Mail Chimp Integration, Cassandra, Hbase
• SMS, Voice and Phone Verification: Twilio, Sinch, Nexmo
• Payment Gateway Integration: Paypal, Braintree, Authorize,net
• Cloud Environment: AWS, Microsoft Azure, iCloud, Google Cloud Platform
• Real-time Analytics: Hadoop, Spark, BigData

Cost of developing an On-demand Beauty Service App

The total cost of developing an on-demand beauty service app platform depends upon the functionality and features you incorporate, including elements like AI-powered personalization in apps, and the number of complexities involved in the development. Furthermore, the cost also depends on the following factors:

 AND/OR

• UI/UX Design
• iOS and Android native app development
• Backend development
• Web development
• MVP testing
• Quality assurance (Polishing and bug fixing)

Summing up all the components above, an average on-demand beauty app costs around 20k-30k USD for iOS and Android platform.