Quick answer: Keep base prices competitive, then sell one named, priced add-on that takes little extra chair time. A new Massachusetts report found nearly a third of surveyed salon owners were losing money or breaking even, while service prices haven't risen much. A clearly listed design add-on, offered at booking, raises the ticket without adding hours to the day.
What the report found about owners
The Massachusetts Nail Salon Project, an advocacy coalition, released its report "Not to Be Left Behind" on October 19, 2026. GBH reported that it draws on a survey of 95 nail salon workers and 47 owners, across some 1,700 salons in the state. Most of the report is about technicians. The owner numbers deserve attention too.
According to The Boston Globe, three-quarters of the 47 owners surveyed are former nail techs who still work alongside their staff and own just one salon, most with five or fewer workers. Nearly a third said they were losing money or breaking even. Jaya Savita of the Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network told the Globe that the cost of nail services hasn't risen much over the years.
The lever an owner controls: the menu
The report's recommendations are policy work for the coalition and the state. A five-chair owner can't change those this month. What an owner can change is what the menu charges for and how each service gets sold.
When the base manicure price is held down by the salon down the street, the room to grow is a separate line item clients choose on purpose. A named design add-on, such as a photo, logo or event motif printed on a cured gel base, carries its own price, gets offered at booking, and keeps detailed hand-painting from stretching the appointment. It won't solve the industry's problems by itself. It is a menu change an owner can make now.
Takeaway
When base prices can't move, price the extra on purpose. Don't give art away inside a flat fill.
Book a NailPrinter demo to see how a printed design fits on your menu as a named, priced add-on.
Sources: The Boston Globe (Oct. 19, 2026); GBH News (Oct. 19, 2026).
