Online booking adoption: a compiled report

Online booking statistics show strong stated demand, uneven real use, and real losses when booking is hard in any channel. Customers say they want to book any time, but many still pick up the phone, and in industries like beauty, a poor online flow drives people away entirely.

This report compiles surveys from healthcare and beauty, two industries that publish the most booking data. Experian Health and Phreesia cover patient preferences, MGMA covers what medical practices actually see, and Zenoti and Boulevard cover salon, spa and med spa clients. Most of these sources sell scheduling software, so we note sample sizes where they were published and treat vendor surveys as directional.

Most patients say online booking matters. Experian Health's State of Patient Access 2024, based on a February 2024 survey of more than 1,000 patients and 200 healthcare revenue cycle leaders, found 89% of patients say being able to schedule appointments at any time through online or mobile tools is important. On the provider side, 63% had or planned to implement self-scheduling, and 84% strongly agreed digital and mobile access is important to patients.

Stated importance is not the same as a preferred channel, though. Phreesia surveyed nearly 14,000 patients across its network and found 65% preferred to schedule by phone, 18% online and 15% in person. That survey was first published in 2019, so it likely understates online preference today, but it shows how long phone booking has held on.

Providers have not made it a top priority. In the same Experian Health survey, self-scheduling did not make providers' top three priorities for improving patient access, even though most agreed digital access matters to patients. That gap between what patients rate as important and what providers rank first helps explain the slow adoption MGMA reports.

Fewer than surveys of preference suggest. In an MGMA Stat poll from July 2025 with 244 responses, 71% of medical group leaders said fewer than 25% of their patients use digital self-scheduling tools. Another 21% said 25% to 50%, 5% said 51% to 75%, and only 3% said more than 75%. In MGMA's November 2024 poll, the share with under a quarter of patients self-scheduling was 73%, so movement over the year was small.

MGMA also reported that practices with the highest self-scheduling use were more likely to report fewer no-shows, though it did not publish a figure for that relationship. Part of the gap is on the practice side: many offer self-scheduling only for some appointment types, or put it behind a portal login, which adds friction patients notice.

Beauty clients expect booking to be easy at any hour, and they leave when it is not. Zenoti's 2025 consumer research, published in October 2025, found 69% of salon and spa customers had skipped booking altogether because reaching someone or booking online was too difficult, rising to 71% among regular clients. Among regulars, 81% sometimes need to manage appointments outside business hours, and 73% are more likely to rebook when 24/7 booking is available.

The phone still matters here too. In the same Zenoti research, 77% of regulars said calling is the easiest way to change an existing appointment, and Zenoti's 2024 survey found 52% of spa customers will hang up after three minutes on hold. Zenoti did not publish its sample sizes.

Yes, and they are quick to drop a business with a poor booking experience. Boulevard's consumer survey of more than 2,000 beauty consumers, released in November 2025, found 67% of Gen Z and 64% of Millennials have abandoned a salon or spa altogether because the online booking process was too clunky.

The same survey shows booking is only one part of the digital first impression. 55% of Gen Z and 47% of Millennials said Instagram or TikTok activity is very or extremely important when deciding whether to book, and 44% of all respondents prefer texting as their way to communicate with a self-care business. Phreesia's age data in healthcare points the same direction: online preference was highest between 25 and 44 and lowest over 65.

Booking friction is one of several reasons clients leave. In Boulevard's survey, 71% named poor results and a negative interaction with an associate as the top missteps that would stop them from returning, and 55% expect to be offered add-ons, memberships or retail based on their history. The booking step sets the tone for the rest of that relationship.

When the phone is the only way to book, availability is limited to the hours someone can answer, and hold times become part of the customer experience. Phreesia's patient survey found that among patients who schedule by phone, 16% reported typical holds of two to five minutes and 7% reported holds of more than five minutes. Zenoti's 2024 survey found 52% of spa customers will hang up after three minutes on hold.

After-hours demand is the other gap. Zenoti's 2025 research found 81% of salon and spa regulars sometimes need to manage appointments outside business hours, and 63% rated 24/7 receptionist access as very or extremely valuable. For a dental office or a chiropractic clinic, those after-hours requests often arrive as voicemails that wait until the next morning, when the team is already busy with patients in the chair.

Booking is also the start of the relationship, not the end. Boulevard's 2025 survey found 66% of beauty consumers say remembering their personal preferences is essential to keeping them coming back, and 41% expect a same-day follow-up after an appointment. A booking system that stores preferences and triggers follow-up messages supports both, which a paper book or a phone-only process struggles to do.

The numbers differ because they measure different things. Some ask whether online booking is important, some ask about the preferred channel, and some ask what share of appointments are actually booked online. A patient can rate online booking as important and still call because the practice's online calendar only shows a few slots.

• Importance questions run high: 89% in Experian Health's patient survey.
• Preferred channel questions run lower: 18% preferred online in Phreesia's survey.
• Actual use depends on what the business offers: most MGMA practices see under 25% self-scheduling.
• Abandonment questions capture the cost of friction: 67% of Gen Z in Boulevard's survey and 69% of salon and spa customers in Zenoti's.
• Several sources are software vendors that publish no sample size or fieldwork dates. Use them for direction, not precision.

The research supports offering online booking without removing the phone. A med spa, a physical therapy clinic or a salon will have clients who book at 10 pm on a phone and others who want to talk to a person first. Losing either group costs appointments. The surveys also show that a clunky online flow can be worse than none, because clients abandon the business instead of calling.

Start by looking at where bookings come from today. If most arrive by phone during business hours, the first gain may be answering more calls and returning missed ones fast. If clients already ask to book at night or by text, online booking and two-way texting will likely matter more.

Monvell's Platform work includes calendars and booking set up around these points, with confirmations and reminders built in, so the online path is simple and the phone path still gets answered.

• Show real availability online for your most common appointment types, not a request form.
• Keep the booking flow short: service, time, contact details, confirm. Avoid forcing an account login.
• Send an instant confirmation by text and email, plus a reminder before the visit.
• Make sure calls are answered or returned quickly, since many clients still prefer to call.
• Track what share of bookings come online each quarter and which services people book that way.