The US spa industry is holding steady as Q3 results from the Professional Beauty Association’s (PBA) Salon/Spa Performance Index (SSPI) has indicated.

The SSPI, a quarterly composite index that tracks the health and outlook of the US’s salon and spa industry, is based on responses from PBA’s salon/spa industry tracking survey, which is fielded quarterly among both salon and spa owners across the US on a variety of indicators.

The SSPI is constructed so that the health of the salon/spa industry is measured in relation to a steady-state level of 100. Index values above 100 indicate that key industry indicators are in a period of expansion, while index values below 100 represent a period of contraction for key industry indicators.

The SSPI Q3 2013 stood overall at 102.6 compared to 102.7 in Q2 of 2013. Both second and third quarter results for 2013 compare favourably to the previous year with Q3 up 0.7 per cent from 2012.

Positive sales and traffic results continued in the third quarter of 2013, at a similar level to Q2 of this year.

“Year-over-year results continue to show positive advances,” said executive director of PBA Steve Sleeper. “We continue to remain optimistic about the short and long term projections for the salon and spa industry as a whole.”

While the overall trend for the Current Situation Index – which measures industry trends using five indicators – is positive, the results in the quarter were mixed. Salon and spa owners reported softer service sales and a decline in employee hours. By contrast however, they did report an increase in customer traffic, overall staffing levels and gain in capital spending.

To read the full SSPI report click here.