Industry Report

Australian cosmetics clinics are sitting on millions in dormant revenue.

We analysed patient databases across multiple cosmetics practices. The pattern is universal: 85-95% of patients lapse, and almost none are being contacted. Here's the opportunity — and the science that captures it.

routiq.ai

01 — The Market

The Australian cosmetics market is booming.

$1.78B
Cosmetic procedures market (2024)
500K+
Procedures performed annually
9.25%
Market CAGR through 2033
38%
Adults considering cosmetic procedures
$350M+ annual Botox revenue (AUD)
25%+ filler spending growth YoY
1.2M Australians had cosmetic surgery last year

Sources: ISAPS, IBISWorld, ASPS, CPCA — routiq.ai/statistics

02 — The Problem

But clinics are haemorrhaging patients.

70%
Of patients never complete their full care plan
5-25x
More expensive to acquire a new patient than retain one
80%
Of marketing budgets spent on acquisition, not retention

Anti-wrinkle injections need refreshing every 90 days. Fillers every 9-18 months. Skin treatments every 28-42 days. These are inherently recurring — yet almost no cosmetics practice has a system to ensure patients return on schedule.

routiq.ai/statistics — Patient Retention

03 — What We Found

We analysed patient databases across multiple Australian cosmetics practices.

Practice A
8,500+
Patients across 3 locations. Multi-practitioner injectable clinic. $1.8M annual revenue.
Practice B
12,000+
Patients across 5 locations. Full-service cosmetics & surgery. $3.2M annual revenue.
Practice C
6,600+
Patients across 2 locations. Skin, laser & injectables. $1.1M annual revenue.

Different sizes. Different locations. Different specialties. The same pattern emerged in every single one.

04 — The Universal Pattern
85-95%
of patients are lapsed

Across every practice we analysed, the vast majority of patients hadn't visited in over 90 days. Most hadn't been seen in over a year. The typical breakdown:

0-30d
~4%
31-90d
~5%
91-180d
~5%
6-12 mo
~6%
1-2 yr
~9%
2-3 yr
~8%
3+ yr
~60%

Typical distribution across analysed practices

05 — The Gap

The retention gap in cosmetics

No system.

Most cosmetics clinics rely on patients remembering to rebook — or ad-hoc manual reminders at best. No automated, treatment-aware, behaviorally-optimised recall system exists in the industry. The patients are reachable. The intent is there. The system isn't.

98%+ of lapsed patients have a mobile number
<1% SMS opt-out rate across cosmetics
80% of marketing budget goes to acquisition, not retention
06 — The Opportunity

Four segments hiding in every cosmetics database.

Practice A — Injectable Clinic
6,800+
Overdue Anti-Wrinkle
Past 90-day reinjection window. Results visibly fading. Clinically overdue for Botox refresh.
~$375 avg value · 3x/year cycle
Practice B — Full-Service
2,400+
Overdue Dermal Filler
Past filler refresh window. Lips, cheeks, jawline. Higher ticket, longer cycle.
~$727 avg value · 1-2x/year
Practice B — Full-Service
1,100+
Surgery Consult Drop-off
Consulted for surgery but never proceeded. Over 80% of all surgery consults.
$8,000-$15,000 per procedure
Practice C — Skin & Laser
1,900+
No-Show Recovery
Booked and didn't arrive. Intent existed. The warmest leads in any database.
~$350 avg value · 20-30% rebook rate

Analysis: Feb 2026 — routiq.ai

07 — The Revenue

What does this mean in dollars?

Across the practices we analysed, we modelled conservative reengagement scenarios. The numbers are staggering — and this is at just 5-10% reactivation rates.

15-25% industry benchmark for recall campaigns
PracticeLapsed PoolRecoverable Revenue
Practice A~7,200$540K — $810K
Practice B~10,800$960K — $1.4M
Practice C~5,600$280K — $420K

At a conservative 10% reengagement rate, these practices have a combined recoverable opportunity exceeding $2M in annual revenue — from patients already in their databases.

08 — Industry Validation

These aren't aspirational numbers. They're industry benchmarks.

15-25%
Of lapsed patients successfully re-engaged via recall campaigns
42%
Click-through rate on healthcare SMS messages
38%
Reduction in no-shows from SMS reminders alone
97-99%
SMS read rate vs 80-90% phone contact rate
25-95%
Profit increase from just 5% retention improvement
67%
Increase in attendance with SMS-based engagement

Sources: JMIR, BMC Health, Deloitte Access Economics — routiq.ai/statistics

09 — The Question

“The opportunity is clear. But how do you actually get them back?”

Sending messages is easy. Getting lapsed patients to act is the hard part. The answer isn't better copywriting. It's behavioral science — applied systematically, at scale.

10 — The Science

82 behavioral principles. 20 seminal works. One reengagement engine.

Routiq's messaging engine is built on proven cognitive mechanisms from Nobel Prize-winning research in behavioral economics, psychology, and habit formation.

These aren't marketing tips. They're systematic psychological frameworks applied automatically to the right patient at the right moment.

Loss AversionDefault EffectsSocial ProofAnchoringReciprocityScarcityIdentity-Based HabitsShrink the ChangePlanning PromptsPratfall EffectBackcastingPeak-End RuleCommitment & ConsistencyImpact BiasFeedback LoopsStatus Quo BiasReframingB=MAP Framework

From: Kahneman, Thaler, Cialdini, Eyal, Clear, Heath, Fogg, Shotton, Sutherland, Gilbert, Duke, and more.

11 — In Practice: Anti-Wrinkle

Loss Aversion: People feel losses 2x more intensely than gains.

The same patient. The same treatment. Completely different response rates.

Generic message
“Hi! It's been a while since your last visit. Book your next anti-wrinkle appointment today! We'd love to see you.”
Behaviorally optimised
“Hi Sarah, your last anti-wrinkle treatment was 4 months ago — results typically start fading around the 3-month mark. We'd love to get you back on track. Reply BOOK and we'll find a time that works.”

The first asks for action. The second activates the fear of losing something they already have. Loss-framed messages outperform gain-framed messages by 2-3x in healthcare settings. — Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

12 — In Practice: Dermal Filler

Anchoring + Identity: Reference their history. Appeal to self-image.

Generic message
“Time for a filler top-up? Book now and keep looking your best!”
Behaviorally optimised
“Hi Emma, your cheek filler from February last year has likely started to soften — most patients notice changes around the 12-month mark. We'd love to have you in for a complimentary check-up to see how things are sitting. No pressure — just a quick look.”
Anchored to her treatmentIdentity appealReciprocity (free check-up)Shrink the change
13 — In Practice: Surgery & No-Shows

Surgery Consultations

Pratfall Effect + Social Proof

Behaviorally optimised
“Hi Jessica, we know surgery is a big decision, and many of our patients take 6-12 months to reflect before booking. Your surgeon is available for a complimentary 15-minute follow-up call — no pressure, no obligation. Just reply CALL.”

Validates hesitation. Normalises the timeline. Shrinks the next step to 15 minutes.

No-Show Recovery

Make It Easy + Zero Guilt

Behaviorally optimised
“Hi Alex, we noticed you couldn't make your appointment last month — no worries at all! Would you like to rebook? Reply 1 for Tuesday, 2 for Thursday, or CALL and we'll ring you.”

Zero guilt. Assumes intent. Specific options, not open-ended. One reply to rebook.

14 — The Campaign Architecture

Every campaign follows a 3-touch behavioral sequence.

Touch 1 — Day 1

Loss Aversion

“Your results are starting to fade...”

Activate pain of losing progress

Touch 2 — Day 5

Default Effect

“We've found a time for you — reply YES to confirm”

Remove friction, make YES easy

Touch 3 — Day 10

Social Proof + Scarcity

“93% of patients maintain results with regular visits. Limited spots this week.”

Peer validation + urgency

Three messages. Three psychological mechanisms. Automated. Personalised. No “we miss you” fluff.

15 — Why Routiq

Three layers no one else has.

01

Clinical Intelligence

61 cosmetics-specific treatment protocols. Knows Botox = 90 days, lip filler = 270 days, cheek filler = 540 days. Tracks every patient against their specific treatment cycle.

02

Behavioral Science

82 proven principles from Nobel Prize-winning research. Loss aversion, default effects, social proof, reciprocity — applied automatically per segment at the right moment.

03

Automation at Scale

Monitors every patient, every treatment type, every location — simultaneously. White-label messaging. AI-powered replies. Works 24/7. Zero staff hours.

16 — Competitive Position

Why not a marketing agency, your PMS, or a generic CRM?

CapabilityAgency / CRM / PMSRoutiq
Knows what treatment a patient had and when they're overdueNo — gets a CSV exportYes — live PMS integration
Triggers at the exact clinical overdue momentNo — monthly batch campaignsYes — 61 protocol-based triggers
Applies behavioral science systematicallyDepends on the copywriterYes — every message, every segment
Sends from the clinic's own numberUsually noYes — white-label
Handles patient replies with clinical contextHours later, no contextInstant, AI-powered
Scales across multiple locations automaticallyExpensive / manualYes — location-aware
Works nights, weekends, holidaysNoAlways on
17 — The Compound Effect

This isn't a campaign. It's a compounding system.

Every reactivated Botox patient returns every 90 days. Automatically monitored. Automatically reminded. Automatically retained.

Campaigns have a start and end date. Routiq runs forever.

Example: mid-size injectable clinic

Month 1
$35K
Month 2
$70K
Month 3
$105K
Month 4
$140K
Month 5
$175K
Month 6
$210K

Cumulative recovered revenue — reactivated patients continue cycling

18 — Your Clinic

What does this look like for your practice?

Your patient databaseEstimated lapsed (~90%)Conservative (5%)Moderate (10%)
2,000 patients1,800$135K$270K
5,000 patients4,500$337K$675K
10,000 patients9,000$675K$1.35M
20,000 patients18,000$1.35M$2.7M

Based on blended average treatment value of $450 and observed ~90% lapse rate across analysed practices. Conservative scenario uses 5% reengagement; industry benchmarks show 15-25% is achievable.

19 — The Bottom Line

With Routiq vs. without.

Without Routiq

  • Thousands of lapsed patients sitting idle
  • Zero proactive outreach
  • Revenue plateauing despite growing market
  • Growth dependent on expensive acquisition
  • No system for retention
  • 80% of marketing budget on new patients

With Routiq

  • Every patient actively monitored & reengaged
  • Behavioral science campaigns running daily
  • 30-40% revenue uplift from existing database
  • Growth from patients you've already acquired
  • 61 treatment protocols, fully automated
  • Fraction of the cost, 10x the ROI
20

You already did the hard part — building a patient base, earning their trust, delivering great results.

Those patients didn't leave because they were unhappy. They left because life got busy and nobody reminded them.

Their results are fading. They know it. They just need the right nudge.

How much of your dormant revenue do you want to leave on the table?

routiq.

Clinical Intelligence Meets Behavioral Science
routiq.ai

Sources

AHPRA Annual Report 2024 · AIHW · IBISWorld
ISAPS · Medicare Benefits Schedule · CPCA · ASPS
Deloitte Access Economics · JMIR · BMC Health Services Research
routiq.ai/statistics

Data from multiple Australian cosmetics practices. All identifying details anonymised. Analysis: February 2026.