Square Offers Beauty Sector Online Booking, POS Tool

Square

Square is offering merchants in the beauty and wellness industry a point of sale (POS) tool that integrates appointments, payments and checkout for a streamlined, secure process. 

Square Appointments is a front desk solution that works with the business payments processing tool Square Register. The app-based tool gives salon customers the ability to book their appointments online and also issues reminders.

“We’ve seen beauty and wellness sellers gravitate towards using Square Register since it first launched, and we’re excited to offer this integration with Square Appointments,” Jesse Dorogusker, hardware lead, Square, said in a company blog post on Wednesday (Dec. 9).

Dorogusker added that with this new integration, all of Square’s POS tools will be available on Square Register. Originally launched in 2014, Square Appointments was aimed at small businesses offering appointment-based services like salons, wellness providers and tutors.

Aside from booking and payments, the enhanced Square Appointments solution also enables sellers to manage inventory. 

“Square Appointments on Square Register is the perfect solution for our salon since we can now do everything all in one place whereas before we were having to use multiple devices,” said Teresa Kuhbacher, owner of Lil’ Tiffany’s Spa in Gillette, Wyoming. “Our clients love using Square Appointments because it’s so easy to navigate and book all of their services, while they can also use contactless payments or even prepay for their services for an even safer checkout.” 

In addition, “Square Register has made our front desk look beautiful, providing a smooth and welcoming experience for clients the moment they walk in the door,” Kuhbacher said.

The 13-inch display provides sellers with the ability to schedule appointments for up to 20 staff members from one screen. There is also a 7-inch display for customers that sellers can customize with their business name and logo. Also included is the artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled Square Assistant, a messaging tool that enables fast responses directly to customers. 

A new PYMNTS report done in collaboration with American Express — the 2021 New Merchant Business Models Playbook — takes a look at the ways merchants are adopting technologies and strategies for unified shopping capabilities. 

Square just teamed up with DoorDash to give online merchants the ability to fulfill orders with on-demand deliveries. Last month, the Silicon Valley firm launched its Kitchen Display System software (Square KDS), designed to help kitchen owners streamline their workload and manage omnichannel orders. 

The coronavirus pandemic has changed how the world conducts business, with capacity restrictions spelling the end to walk-in traffic for many restaurants, service providers and retailers. The PYMNTS Mobile-Order Ahead Tracker revealed that almost 50 million Americans anticipate tapping into food delivery apps next year.