Now that most of the aesthetic medical practices across the United States have reopened after the COVID-19 shutdown, a new report from the Aesthetic Business Institute and PatientNow shows that sales are up significantly across the industry.
Francis X. Acunzo, CEO of Acara Partners and chair of the board of directors for the Aesthetic Business Institute, feels that there are several factors at play. “Certainly some of these sales increases are due to a pent-up demand for aesthetic services,” Acunzo said. “But we also believe there is a marketplace expansion of aesthetic services taking place.”
There also is the “Zoom Effect,” a term coined by Acunzo and the Acara Partners team that references the many online video meetings that have become the norm during this time of work and school from home.
It is important to note that when this was published (July 10th, 2020), the following data was forecasted based on an average paced for 30 days in June. Actual year over year results can be found here.
Researchers and industry experts from the Aesthetic Business Institute and PatientNow studied the data from 393 aesthetic medical practices for June 2019 and 2020 (YoY). This analysis included both core and non-core practices. “Core” aesthetic practices are those owned by dermatologists or plastic surgeons, while “non-core” includes medspas or non-doctor owned aesthetic practices. Results from this analysis were shared and discussed by Acunzo and Wes Olis, director of products at PatientNOW, during a “State of the Aesthetic Medical Industry” webinar presented in late June.
Comparing overall sales from June 2019 and June 2020, the study found that sales are up from last year in a number of areas. Overall, core practice sales are up 3.97%, and non-core sales increased by 7.95%. However, based on a set of specific procedures (injectables, non-invasive body contouring, laser skin rejuvenation, clinical skin care and retail products) the core increase is 7.47% and the non-core is up a stunning 30.9%.
Injectables
Injectables are significantly up. We found that core practices are up 26.8% and non-core practices are up 46.6% from June 2019.
Non-invasive Body Countouring
We found that non-invasive body contouring is up 13.59% in core practices, yet down -11.4% in non-core practices. When speculating as to why this may be, we look to the demographics of those core practices. Typically drawing the 45+ age group, this demographic is perhaps more financially stable than some of the younger demographics of medspas.
Laser Skin Rejuvenation
Looking at laser skin rejuvenation, we found that the trends flip flop from what we saw with non-invasive body contouring. Core practices were down -4.88% while non-core practices were up 14.02% from June YoY variances. Without the surgery aspect of their practice, it makes sense that non-core medical spas are going to have a strong focus on laser skin rejuvenation.
Clinical Skin Care
Non-core practices also saw a significant increase in clinical skin care treatments. They were up 44.4%, while core practices saw a -11.6% decrease from June 2019. Non-core practices have a big focus on clinical skin care procedures, so this makes sense.
Retail
What we saw in the retail trends surprised us. Core practices’ retail was up 86.2% this June over last June. Adversely, non-core retail sales were down -29.9% from last June. Perhaps core practices were stronger in marketing retail products throughout the states’ lockdown orders.
Surgical Procedures
Surgical trends only apply to the core practices. We found that surgical procedures were up 4.11%.
What has led to such dramatic increases and decreases in these procedures? Acunzo believes that the COVID-19 shutdowns played a big part in this phenomenon. “Clients had more time on their hands allowing them to research and comprehend the procedures they’ve been wanting to have done. We look forward to seeing our clients’ practices continue to grow post COVID-19 shutdowns.”
Interested in knowing more about the state of the aesthetic medical industry as it changes over time? Join the Aesthetic Business Institute as we host quarterly webinars with PatientNow.