NEWSROOM

As the internet has become the primary means of accessing all services, the concept of digitalization has impacted businesses of all sizes and sectors. Data from a local startup shows that beauty salons and wellness centers have increased their appointment numbers by 72% with digital solutions.

TURKEY - While the tendency to access daily and professional services online has become established in Turkey, following global trends, digitalization has also become a critical factor for small and medium-sized businesses competing locally. Beauty salons, hairdressers, barbers, makeup studios, and all other wellness centers operating under the tradesmen's association have turned to specialized solutions that meet all their needs, from salon management and appointment scheduling to customer relationship management and inventory management.

ixirlife, a salon management software that addresses this need, developed by Aybit Teknoloji A.Ş. under the leadership of Serkan Yılmaz and Melih Umar in March 2023, is currently used by over 300 businesses. The company has announced that it is launching a crowdfunding and investment round to expand its impact.

As part of the crowdfunding campaign, ixirlife will collect pre-orders from May 20 to June 2, 2024, offering a 30% bonus share as a special incentive. During the 60-day investment round from June 3 to August 1, 2024, the company will offer shares at an 11% discount based on a valuation of 70 million TL.

A Rapidly Growing Market in Europe and the USA

While the online appointment and reservation platforms market completed 2023 with a valuation of $100 billion, the salon management software market focused solely on beauty salons is expected to grow by 10% annually. Serkan Yılmaz, Co-Founder of ixirlife, noted that software solutions as a service focusing on beauty salons and wellness centers in the USA and Europe have reached valuations of tens of millions of dollars.

“There are more than 100,000 businesses operating as beauty salons in Turkey. When we expand this category to include physiotherapists, psychologists, dietitians, and dental clinics, this number grows even larger. The needs and demands of all businesses converge: increasing appointment numbers, expanding the customer base, reducing appointment cancellations, and developing customer loyalty programs. As an innovative platform offering digital solutions to wellness centers, we have combined solutions that address these needs in a single online software with a user-friendly interface,” he said.

Both a Service Marketplace and a Salon Management Program

Highlighting that they have developed Turkey's most advanced and innovative salon management program with a feature set tailored to needs, Serkan Yılmaz said, “Wellness centers achieve operational excellence and get to know their customers closely with ixirlife’s appointment management, sales management, and customer management features. Our SMS management feature maintains continuous contact with customers through appointment reminders and special day celebrations. The personnel management feature increases the efficiency of human resources and helps develop a fair reward system. Inventory management, cash income-expense tracking, and reporting features provide beauty salon and wellness center owners with a comprehensive view of their cash flows, financial status, and inventory.

In addition to the business side, our web and mobile applications make it easy for customers to book appointments at wellness centers of their choice 24/7. ixirlife, both a service marketplace and a salon management program, also becomes a sales channel,” he said.

Reduces Appointment Cancellations by Half

Used by more than 300 salons and having facilitated over 1.5 million appointments to date, ixirlife has also had a direct impact on the financial success of businesses, said Serkan Yılmaz, Co-Founder of ixirlife, concluding his remarks as follows:

“SMEs using ixirlife, one of the initiatives supported under TÜBİTAK's TEKNOÇABA project, can increase their after-hours appointments by 60% and their appointment numbers by 72%. Our salon management software, which contributes to an 80% likelihood of gaining new customers, reduces appointment cancellations by half with regular reminders and effective customer relationship management features. Encouraged by the positive feedback we have received from the market and our growing user base, we have decided that now is the right time for growth. Therefore, to once again prove that we can be the representative of this rapidly growing market in Turkey, we have initiated a pre-order campaign within the scope of our crowdfunding campaign. Through the campaign we will launch on Fonangels, we will enable individual investors to join ixirlife’s growth journey. Subsequently, we will start our investment round with a valuation of 70 million TL.”