While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on many sectors – particularly retail and travel – some industries are noting a major positive shift in audience behaviour that is delivering new growth and development opportunities. The sunbed sector is one such industry that appears to be thriving during crisis, with organisations including Sunbeds.com noting a significant rise in both new enquiries and sales of domestic tanning bed models that can easily be set up and used in the home.

Growth of the Sunbed Sector

According to Acumen Research and Consulting, the global tanning bed market is expected to demonstrate a compound annual growth rate of 6% over the next few years, achieving an international market value of nearly $7.5 million by 2027.

For the sunbed sector, the health crisis has created a ‘perfect storm’, where multiple elements have come together to drive impressive and almost unprecedented results.

Primary drivers of the sector’s rapid growth include:

Salon Closures: Deemed by the UK Government to be ‘non-essential’ businesses, hairdressers, tanning salons, beauty salons, and tattoo and piercing parlours were all forced to shut their doors for months, leaving regular customers scrambling to secure at-home alternatives to maintain their beauty regimens.
Self-Care: With advice to remain at home as much as possible, and with a wide scale ban on socialising, it’s not surprising that mental health concerns have been growing over lockdown. This has undoubtedly sparked greater awareness of the importance of self care which, for many, includes regular tanning sessions
Travel Restrictions: Confidence-boosting summer tans are largely a thing of the past as tight restrictions on both domestic and international travel have poured old water on plans to soak up some hot Spanish sun. Would-be holidaymakers are therefore seeking to replicate their holiday glow using artificial UV devices.
Zoom Boom: As more people are working from home than ever before, and communicating over video conferencing software like Zoom, workers are becoming increasingly aware of their appearance, seeing themselves on screen every day. This is sparking a rise in both sunbed use, and aesthetic treatments.
Health: Vitamin D has hit the headlines over the past year, with UK health officials noting that it can help the body produce a stronger immune response to respiratory illness, and could help minimise the severity of COVID-19. Research suggests that UVB sunbeds can produce Vitamin D in humans, sparking interest.

How Sunbed Businesses are Faring

We recently spoke with Sunbeds.com who are among the businesses emerging as the economical ‘winners’ of the past 12 months. Following a period of notable and somewhat unexpected growth during such a challenging time, the organisation conducted its own independent research into behaviours and perceptions of sunbeds, discovering that nearly three quarters of the population want a tanned appearance.

“Initially, like every business in every industry, we buckled up for what could have been a very bumpy ride, but as the country started to adapt to the ‘new normal’, we found that, actually, sunbeds were playing a huge role in both health and wellbeing”.

Should we be Worried?

Despite the positivity that comes today when hearing stories of success in such a vulnerable economic landscape, there’s an elephant in the room here that needs to be addressed. As we all know, the UV light emitted by both sunbeds and the sun itself is associated with an increased risk of skin cancer, with the reputation of sunbeds being somewhat wavering. Could such rapid growth in the industry spark a new health crisis?

According to Sunbeds.com, this isn’t something to be concerned about. Asked whether skin cancer rates could rise in line with industry growth and the normalisation of at-home tanning, Sunbeds.com told us that “It’s all about building awareness”.

Indeed, the company has long been committed to knowledge sharing through its website, publishing straight talking guides on exposure times and safe tanning practices. The organisation’s research also shows that 83% of sunbed users feel they are ‘quite knowledgeable’ or ‘very knowledgeable’ about the risks of overexposure, while almost all confidently state that they do not exceed European exposure guidelines.