PULSE POINTS
BY J A M I S O N S TO I K E
THEN AND NOW:
Treatments Trends, 2010 v. 2019
THOUGH THE SPA INDUSTRY HAS BEEN GROWING
consistently since ISPA was established 30 years ago, the
2010s were a particularly eventful decade. It began with
the industry—and the economy as a whole—in recession.
It ended with spa and wellness ascendant on the inter-
national stage, a trend largely driven by ever-expanding
notions of holistic wellness, mental wellbeing, physical
fitness and self-care.
The push toward a more encompassing version of spa
is reflected in treatment data from the 2019 ISPA U.S. Spa
Industry Study, especially when compared to the study
released at the start of the decade in 2010.
As the aesthetic goals of spa are sidelined in favor of
health-oriented goals, the number of spas offering salon
services dropped greatly over the 2010s, from 66 percent to
48 percent. Among the remaining heavy-hitters—massage,
skin care services, body services, and hydrotherapy—
results were mixed. Massage, already ubiquitous in 2010,
increased a further seven percentage points: 95 percent of
U.S. spas now offer massage. Skin care and body treat-
ments are likely offered at the same rate now as they
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were ten years ago, although this is impossible to know
due to changes in how the data is reported. Hydrotherapy,
which was offered at 26 percent of spas in the 2010 Study,
is now only offered at 17 percent. It is unclear whether
spas which once offered hydrotherapy no longer do so, or
if the decline is a result of new spas simply not offering it.
Diving into massage specifically, deep tissue/sports,
Swedish and pregnancy massage remained the most
popular types offered throughout the 2010s. Many other
types, such as aromatherapy and stone, saw a decrease
in the number of spas offering them. With simplified,
consolidated menus being the trend du jour, it’s not
surprising that the data indicates such a decline.
Meanwhile, the number of spas offering fitness or
sports services experienced a swift surge from just 10
percent of spas in 2010 to 40 percent in the 2019 Study.
This is likely attributable to two main factors: the rise of
holistic wellness and the increasing number of male spa-
goers, to whom fitness and sports services appeal.
Other types of wellness-centered services saw growth
over the last decade, albeit not as greatly. In the 2010