Know the Cost and Key Features to Develop an On-demand Beauty App

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 and the number of complexities involved in the development. Furthermore, the cost also depends on the following factors:

• Hourly software development costs a mobile app development company charges.
• Ongoing support and maintenance.

 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.