The latest edition of the Professional Beauty Association's (PBA) Salon/Spa Performance Index (SSPI) paints an encouraging picture for the future of the US spa sector.

Figures from the SSPI's fourth quarter report (Q4 2010) show that the sector bounced back from a decline in retail sales for the third quarter and posted a small growth of 0.2 per cent in the fourth.

Salon and spa owners' outlook for capital spending activity also picked up in the fourth quarter with 56 per cent of owners planning to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months.

The SSPI is based on the responses to the Professional Beauty Association's Salon/Spa Tracking Survey, which is fielded quarterly among spa owners in the US.

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

The Current Situation Index (CIS), which measures current trends in five industry indicators (service sales; retail sales; customer traffic; employees/hours; and capital expenditures), rose 0.3 percent to a level of 101.6 in the fourth quarter, gaining back some of the 0.9 percent decline registered in the third quarter.

In addition, the CIS stood above 100 for the fourth consecutive quarter, which represents expansion in the current situation indicators.

Spa owners reported a net increase in customer traffic for the fifth consecutive quarter, with 45 per cent of spa owners reporting an increase in customer traffic between the fourth quarters of 2009 and 2010, while 21 per cent reported lower traffic levels.