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Head-On #8: Everything is Going to be Just Fine | April 06, 2017 (2 comments)
Merrick, NY-- I'm going to go out on a limb, and change the tenor of the conversation right now. I believe that everything really is going to be just fine for our industry.
After all, when a jewelry store closes, which we have seen a fair amount of in the US market, in almost all cases the long-term result is more business for the surviving stores in the market. And while competition is heating up daily for the growing Internet space, jewelers everywhere are raising the bar on their e-commerce and social media activities, hiring additional team members, and generally making sure they are learning what they need to to become a part of it.
Stores I'm talking to lately often report they are killing it! I'm hearing about kids coming back into the business as well, which is a further good sign. You can see the looks on jewelers faces. These are not worried people. These are determined people.
Surveys From Last Week Show Optimism
Another case in point are the business surveys we received from stores last week.
One store reported a jump of between 10% and 24% over last year. This Northwestern Canada operation was finding that custom work was bolstering their business, and that people in the 40 to 65 year old age range are buying big.
A Southwestern store had seen sales jump 25% or more. They run out of the lobby of an office building in a major city and told us that higher consumer confidence is definitely driving business. A Northeastern downtown independent in a major city has had sales jump 10% to 24%. This store doesn't discount and has seen growing business fueled by first-time customers between the ages of 25 and 40 and recurring customers between the ages of 45 and 65. And for them, it's not only Bridal, but a lot of gift-giving, birthdays, anniversaries, self purchase and tourism sales. All great things for a 365-day year business.
A downtown South Central store in a midsize city also reported in with an increase of 10% to 24%. They felt issues with the oil market we're beginning to resolve and that this was driving their increases. Only a Midwestern strip mall independent saw slow traffic as the reason their sales were down a relatively small 1% to 5%.
So lots of good things are happening for jewelry stores in our markets.
The Doom and Gloom in the General Media needs to be tuned out at this point to a fair extent. After all, the more we talk about it, the more it creeps into our consciousness and and reveals that glimmer of concern that might turn a customer off at the critical moment.
Send positive signals and get customers feeling they totally deserve the beautiful things they are about to purchase or receive from you. Those positive signals are contagious.
And make a rep's day today, by placing an order and sending them on their way with lots of optimism. They also need to be part of the success you are most certainly going to have in the months and years to come.
Here's to a record-breaking week ahead!