When operators ask “is my no-show rate high?”, the answer depends on industry, customer demographics, and what interventions you’ve put in place. Here’s the data, drawn from publicly available studies and operator surveys.
Industry baseline no-show rates
Without any reminders or deposit policy:
| Industry | Typical no-show rate |
|---|---|
| Primary care clinics | 18-25% |
| Dental practices | 10-15% |
| Mental health / therapy | 20-35% |
| Salon / barber | 8-15% |
| Spa / wellness | 6-12% |
| Fitness studios (paid classes) | 15-25% |
| Lessons / coaching (1:1) | 10-20% |
| Trades / home services | 5-12% |
| Pet grooming | 8-15% |
| Photography / events | 3-8% |
Higher-cost services have lower no-show rates because customers have more skin in the game.
Effect of SMS reminders
Multiple studies show SMS reminders 24 hours before reduce no-show rates by 30-50%. Sample data:
| Setting | Before | After SMS reminder |
|---|---|---|
| UK NHS clinics | 11.7% | 8.4% |
| US dental practice (n=8,000) | 14.3% | 6.8% |
| London salon (anecdotal) | 9% | 4% |
| Australian GP clinics (n=20,000) | 19% | 12% |
The mechanism: customers who would otherwise forget the appointment get a clear, attention-getting reminder.
Effect of deposits
Card-on-file or deposit at booking reduces no-show by 60-80%:
| Setting | Without deposit | With deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty medical clinic | 15% | 4% |
| High-end salon (Toronto) | 11% | 2.5% |
| Therapy practice | 28% | 8% |
| Spa (luxury tier) | 7% | 1.8% |
Deposits work because they convert “I’ll skip if I don’t feel like going” into “I’ll lose money if I skip”.
Effect of confirmation request
Reminder + ask-to-confirm (vs reminder alone) further reduces no-shows by 10-15 percentage points. The mechanism: customers who actively confirm have committed; passive recipients haven’t.
| Setting | Reminder only | Reminder + confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Dental clinic (n=6,000) | 7.2% | 4.1% |
| Salon group (n=15,000) | 8.5% | 5.0% |
Stacked interventions
The numbers compound. A salon doing all of:
- SMS reminder 24 hours before
- Confirmation request
- Card on file
- Cancellation policy disclosed at booking
…lands at 3-5% no-show rate.
A salon doing none lands at 12-18%.
The difference: 8-15% of revenue. For a salon doing $400k/year, that’s $32-60k.
Cost of no-shows
The full cost includes:
- Direct revenue lost (the missed appointment)
- Opportunity cost (the customer who would have taken the slot)
- Staff cost (the staff member is paid regardless)
- Customer dissatisfaction (the next-customer wait time)
Conservative estimate: a no-show costs ~1.5x the service price.
For a $80 cut, the no-show costs ~$120. For a salon doing 50 no-shows per month, that’s $6,000/month — or $72k/year — in recoverable revenue.
Demographics
No-show rates vary by demographic:
- Younger customers (18-25) no-show 1.5-2x as often as older customers (no-show rate ~12% vs ~6% in similar settings)
- First-time customers no-show 2-3x as often as repeat customers
- Customers booking same-day are more likely to show than customers booking weeks ahead (closer to the moment of intent)
- Customers booking through GBP / SEO have similar show-rate to customers booking directly; no significant difference
What the data doesn’t capture
- Soft no-shows (customers who arrive 20+ minutes late and the appointment is compromised) — often 2-3x as common as hard no-shows
- Late cancellations (within window) — usually 5-15% beyond hard no-shows
- Customer mood post-fee — fees reduce no-shows but a small % of customers churn after being charged. Trade-off is generally favourable but not zero.
Methodology note
These numbers are aggregated from public studies, operator surveys, and platform-level data. They’re directional, not precise — your specific business may vary.