Price came up as a mention for best spa experiences a paltry 8% of the time. Reasons provided included price being reasonable, value, and having a gift certificate. Price was mentioned 3% of the time in consumer worst experiences with reasons including the price being unreasonable/too expensive and the spa not being a good value. Though one can assume that if the ‘People’ and ‘Product elements go wrong, the guest will perceive the experience as a poor value, what was paid is apparently not what the consumer thinks of when explaining why their experience was not positive. And, while on the flip side, positive experiences were enhanced by feeling like it was a good value, this is not what the consumer talked about when recounting a positive experience.
This is all positive news. As we learned in the previous sections of this report, the educated consumer is doing their research ahead of time and selecting a spa based on their research. They are probably making a purchase within a range they think is reasonable and, as long as they get what they pay for and their expectations are met, price is not the issue. That is not to say, however, that the savvy consumer is not shopping your competitors and determining where the best prices are. Once they have selected your spa, though, if you deliver value with quality service and product, they should be content.
