Sources
Where the numbers come from.
Every number on this site, with who measured it, how, and its limits. Each was checked at the original source on October 19, 2026.
How we pick numbers.
Industry numbers and our own are kept apart, and nothing counts up on screen.
- At the source
- Traced to the original report, not a blog repeating it. Worded the way the source measured it, with its date and sample.
- Labeled
- If the source sells salon or call software, its source line says so.
- Our own
- Counts from our call logs only, never a caller's words. Dated, with the salons unnamed until each one says it's okay.
The sources
- 1
Zenoti, “The state of beauty and wellness heading into 2027,” its Innergize 2026 keynote recap, October 15, 2026. Zenoti's own platform data: calls to the salons, spas, medspas and barbershops that use its software. How many calls isn't stated, and it isn't a random sample. Zenoti sells salon software, including its own AI receptionist. zenoti.com
Used for: 1 in 4 calls unanswered; 35% of missed calls reconnected; 1 in 3 callers calling to book.
- 2
CallRail, “Why businesses can't afford to miss incoming calls,” September 25, 2025, on its survey of 1,000 US consumers. What people say they do, not measured behavior; all kinds of businesses, not just salons. CallRail sells call-tracking software, including its own AI receptionist. callrail.com
Used for: 78% took their business elsewhere; 82% would call a competitor; 21% call another business right away.
- 3
US Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics and County Business Patterns for beauty salons (industry code 812112), 2019 and 2023 data. Full counts from tax and payroll records, not samples. One-person salons include booth renters and suite stylists who file as their own businesses. “9 in 10” is our division of the two counts. Nonemployer Statistics 2023, County Business Patterns 2023
Used for: 9 in 10 salons have no employees; 69% of salons with staff have fewer than 5; paid salon jobs down 12%.
- 4
NFIB, Jobs Report, September 2026, released October 1, 2026. 411 owners from a random sample of NFIB member businesses, all industries. The 87% is out of the owners who were hiring. nfib.com
Used for: 87% found few or no qualified applicants; 32% have openings they can't fill.
- 5
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Receptionists, with May 2025 wage data from its employer survey. Median pay for wage and salary workers; tips and self-employed workers aren't included. The personal-care figure also covers nail salons, barbers and skin care. bls.gov
Used for: $18.27 and $16.57 an hour, median receptionist pay.
- 6
US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey and its AI supplement, 2026. A random sample of US businesses with employees, so one-person salons aren't in it. The 6.6% is for the “Other Services” group, which also includes repair shops and laundries. The 17.3% (November 2025) and 23.8% (September 2026) use the same question; earlier years used different wording. AI supplement table, survey data
Used for: 7.6% and 6.6% used AI for customer service; business use of AI from 17.3% to 23.8%.
- 7
YouGov, daily poll of 26,684 US adults, February 16, 2026: how often they answer, and how often they get, calls from numbers they don't recognize. Online panel. A salon's own number may not be “unknown” to its clients. Answering, receiving
Used for: 76% rarely or never answer unknown numbers; 43% get calls from unknown numbers every day.
- 8
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Barbers, Hairstylists and Cosmetologists, 2025 data. “Often their own front desk” is our reading, not the Bureau's. bls.gov
Used for: about half of hairstylists are self-employed.
- 9
Gallup, “Forty-Six Percent of Self-Employed Workers Hold Quality Jobs,” March 30, 2026. A random sample of 18,429 working US adults, surveyed January to February 2025. All self-employed people, not only salon owners. news.gallup.com
Used for: 49 hours a week for the self-employed.
- 10
Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, March 2026. 6,425 small employer firms answered this question, surveyed September to November 2025. A weighted convenience sample, not a random one; all industries. fedsmallbusiness.org
Used for: 46% struggled to hire or keep qualified staff.
- 11
SALON TODAY, “Caring for Your Caregivers at the Front Desk,” by Stacey Soble, October 1, 2026, quoting Laura Fuqua, founder of Wellify. A practitioner's view, not a measured number. The article features her company's app; she doesn't know Kalon. salontoday.com
Used for: the front desk as “the emotional shock absorber” of a salon or spa.
- 12
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, “Haircuts and other personal care services” (series CUUR0000SEGC01) against all items, US city average, September 2019 to September 2026. Measures prices, not what salons take home. data.bls.gov
Used for: personal-care prices up 38% since September 2019.
- 13
Phorest, Consumer Insights Report 2025 (North America). Online panel of 1,048 people in the US and Canada who had visited a hair salon in the past six months, surveyed October 30 to November 13, 2024. Phorest sells salon software, including an AI assistant for texts. phorest.com
Used for: 44% of salon guests would still rather book with a person.
- 14
Kalon's own call logs. All calls to our two salon clients' lines (four shops), July 23 to October 19, 2026, from our voice platform's records. We removed Kalon's own test calls, callers who rang right back within two minutes of being put through, and calls that never connected. Bookings were checked against the salon's booking system. Counts only; no caller's words are used. The salons are unnamed until they give written okay.
Used for: all of Kalon's own numbers, including calls answered, appointments booked, calls after closing, callers who were already clients, and calls put through to a person.
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