How pairing expert haircare with effortless checkout has helped Oz Hair & Beauty boost basket size by 10 per cent
Oz Hair & Beauty set out to do professional haircare differently. The retailer blends salon-level expertise – from trained staff to premium products – with a customer experience that’s warm and welcoming, not exclusive.
“We wanted to make haircare fun,” says co-founder Guy Nappa.
It’s this customer-centric approach that sets Oz Hair & Beauty apart. It’s also the reason the retailer decided to offer Afterpay.
“We could see Afterpay taking off – it’s incredibly customer-friendly."
Guy Nappa, COO
Nappa says, “We could see Afterpay taking off – it’s incredibly customer-friendly. A lot of our customers were already using it, and it just made sense. It’s a tool that helps people manage their cash flow.”
Today, Afterpay is used by one in six Oz Hair & Beauty customers and it’s become a core growth driver – lifting sales, increasing basket size and helping the brand attract new customers in-store and online.
From family salon to Australia’s haircare heavyweight
Oz Hair & Beauty now operates 29 stores and a thriving e-commerce business that processes thousands of orders every day and leads the way in online hair and beauty retail across Australia.
But the roots run deep. The business began in the ‘80s when the Nappa family opened their first hair salon in Rockdale, Sydney. “When we were old enough, we were the stock runners,” recalls Nappa. “Family dinners were like board meetings.”
In 2012, Nappa’s brother Anthony launched the brand’s online store. Starting out on eBay, Oz Hair & Beauty has scaled into what is now the country’s largest online haircare retailer.
A smoother way to pay
From the outset, Oz Hair & Beauty set out to make haircare feel approachable and more enjoyable – from store design to the brand’s vibrant colour palette.
Afterpay fits naturally into that mission. “It’s a new way to shop,” says Nappa.
Today one in six Oz Hair & Beauty customers uses Afterpay – and Nappa notes that more young customers are shifting away from credit cards towards Buy Now Pay Later.
“There are some customers who will not shop with you if you don’t have Afterpay. They’ll just go somewhere else,” he says, adding: “I would question whether businesses not offering it are actually thinking about their customer experience.”
Good hair, better baskets
Beyond convenience, Afterpay also drives higher spend. Customers who pay with Afterpay spend 10 per cent more on average than those who pay with other methods.
Nappa says the ability to split payments makes higher-value items, such as hair straighteners, more accessible. He explains, “When you can see [a large purchase] broken down into instalments, it almost becomes a no-brainer."
Winning over new customers
Afterpay is also a powerful acquisition channel. Every month Afterpay Shop Directory sends thousands of referrals to Oz Hair & Beauty’s online store.
“That’s super important to us,” says Nappa. “Online marketing is becoming so much more expensive for online retailers, so any channel that can drive traffic [without relying on] paid media is very much needed.”
Afterpay Day delivers another surge in new customers, he adds. Last Afterpay Day, sales increased by 157 per cent while new customer acquisition jumped by 168 per cent. He says, “Afterpay Days are massive events for us. We can see that our customers are waiting for these events.”
“Afterpay Days are massive events for us. We can see that our customers are waiting for these events.”
Guy Nappa, Co-Founder
Layered for growth
Afterpay has become so integral that Oz Hair & Beauty promotes it across numerous touchpoints, from emails to in-store visual merchandise. The retailer also features Afterpay on its product page so customers can visualise exactly how instalments will be paid.
Nappa says, “We want to keep Afterpay front of mind and remind customers – give them the reassurance – that we offer Afterpay.”
He adds, “Afterpay is just so seamless. There’s no friction whatsoever.”
“Afterpay is just so seamless. There’s no friction whatsoever.”
Guy Nappa, Co-Founder
All statistics provided by Oz Hair & Beauty.
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