First look: Amazon’s first-ever hairdressing salon concept to launch in London

Retail Week has been given an exclusive look at Amazon’s first-ever bricks-and-mortar hairdressing salon, which is set to open its doors in London’s Spitalfields in the next few weeks. 

The 1,500 sq ft salon concept is split over two floors and will offer customers the chance to experiment with different hair colours and styles using an augmented reality colour bar. It will also give customers the chance to purchase products from the giant’s beauty store using its brand new ‘point-and-learn technology’.

The new technology will allow customers to point at products they are interested in on a display shelf and information, such as brand videos and educational content, will be displayed on a screen. If the customer then wants to purchase that product, they can do so by scanning QR codes to visit that product on the Amazon website.  

The products on sale in the salon concept have been curated from tens of thousands of products on amazon.co.uk. Amazon will also offer hair and beauty businesses an opportunity to buy the products through its Amazon Business arm.

Different concept to Amazon convenience stores

Like any other hairdressing salon, the Amazon store will also offer customers hair care and styling services provided by Neville Hair and Beauty Salon owner Elena Lavagni and her team of stylists. 

A spokesman for Amazon said that customers would not need to be Amazon members to enter the salon and have their hair cut or styled, but would need an Amazon account to purchase products from the store. It will not be using Amazon’s ‘just walk out’ technology that powers its convenience stores. 

The spokesman said the salon was a chance for the retailer to trial its new technology and health and beauty ranges, and said there were no plans to expand the concept into a chain of salons. 

The new concept will open first to Amazon’s UK employees initially, with bookings being opened up to the public “in the coming weeks”. 

Amazon said it had redesigned the space to be fully Covid secure, “providing free face masks and sanitiser, taking temperature checks and reducing the capacity of the salon”. 

The tech giant also said that separation screens had been used to “divide each styling station” and that both staff and customers will be required to wear masks at all times. 

“It will be a place where we can collaborate with the industry and test new technologies”

John Boumphrey, Amazon UK

Amazon’s UK country manager John Boumphrey said: “We have designed this salon for customers to come and experience some of the best technology, hair care products and stylists in the industry. 

“We want this unique venue to bring us one step closer to customers, and it will be a place where we can collaborate with the industry and test new technologies.”

The US giant clearly views the UK, and London more specifically, as fertile ground for trialling new bricks-and-mortar concepts, having opened its first Amazon Fresh convenience store outside of the US in the city in March. It has since opened two other London Fresh stores, with plans for at least 10 in the capital.