Vagaro Launches Video Conferencing

Vagaro, Inc., a leading business management platform and online marketplace for the beauty, fitness and wellness industry this week announced a new video conferencing service. The new offering extends the capabilities of Vagaro’s powerful, cloud-based tools by allowing businesses to live stream directly and seamlessly from within the Vagaro platform.

Service professionals can choose to live stream from their computer or from their mobile devices using the Vagaro Pro App. The feature is fully automated and works seamlessly with Vagaro’s booking and payment processing platform. Clients booking a remote service or class will automatically receive booking confirmations and reminders with their unique live stream link.

The new feature is part of a series of product innovations and economic relief measures that Vagaro has put in place to help the struggling wellness industry, one of the hardest hit during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Salon and spa owners, massage therapists and personal trainers work in close personal contact with their clients and as a result, revenue has drastically dropped as the virus spreads globally.

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Vagaro’s in-house research shows that, in the U.S., the economic toll has been particularly steep in states with large populations and a significant number of COVID-19 cases. In the state of New York service appointments dropped by 90% and revenue decreased by 93% during the past 2 weeks. Even states with relatively small numbers of COVID-19 cases have not emerged unscathed. In Wyoming for example appointments were down 83%, with revenue plummeting by 89%.

“The impact of COVID-19 on the salon, spa and fitness industry worldwide has been nothing short of devastating. To help these professionals survive now, we have integrated video conferencing technology to enable live streaming of remote classes and one-on-one consultations. These services can be easily booked and paid online through our cloud-based platform,” says Vagaro Founder and CEO Fred Helou.

The company is also giving away its e-commerce, email and text marketing software modules for free, enabling businesses to cost-effectively manage, market and sell newly created remote services.

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To encourage consumer support, Vagaro has outfitted Vagaro.com, its online marketplace, with a search engine that allows visitors to select local businesses with an online offering. The company also launched a social media campaign under the hashtag #StayInsideShopOnline to drive support for small businesses across the nation.

“Vagaro was founded during the great recession of 2009. Back then we supported industry professionals with affordable software and easy access to a free online marketplace. We are committed to helping them now by pushing product innovation, offering reduced pricing structures and supporting industry-focused relief initiatives,” says Kerry Melchior, COO and long-time Vagaro employee.

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