20 Straight-Talking Suggestions to Improve Your Jewelry Store Today
December 09, 2019 (0 comments)
Richard Carlson’s “don’t sweat the small stuff” may have been your lifesaving mantra for decades, but in terms of managing your jewelry store, I’m afraid you have to. With low entry barriers, left and right innovations, and fast-changing consumer habits, the need for dexterous hand, inventive mind, and digital competence is high. Today, consumers value options. The increase in weekly in-store shoppers to 44% this year (2018) from 40% in 2015 explains the consumers’ intensifying desire for social and sensory experience. Meanwhile, consumers also value their friends’ opinions; hence, they turn to social media to look for shopping inspiration.
This tells you to keep up. If you’re just in one channel, you may be losing a lot as consumers would often come from different doors. For instance, if you’re online, the majority of your consumers would not come to you via your front door (your home page), instead, they’ll be coming in the side door (search engine, social media, links) and for this, you need that X factor to entice them to click you. In this post, we’re going to give you 20 straight-talking suggestions that address different jewelry store entry points to improve your products and services.
Read on and start taking notes!
Visual Merchandising
1. Regular rotation is the key
Jewelry piece rotation is a critical task that will help keep your jewelry store looking fresh regularly. Know your in-store traffic and create a merchandise strategy based on that, so as to avoid shoppers from guessing where specific pieces are located. This is not a treasure hunt and most shoppers will not have the patience to look around, especially if they already have a piece in mind.
If you’re a big store owner, make sure your shoppers know where to go for whatever collections you may have. Remember to always romance your shoppers with constant reinvention because even the most mesmerizing jewelry display can look stale in the long run.
2. Use in-store lighting strategically
In-store lighting serves different purposes and may function differently. You can use it to direct your shoppers where you want their attention focused on, set the scene, atmosphere, and mood, highlights the sparkling diamonds, and overall, adds a wow factor to your store.
It’s been said that lighting positioned above and below your diamonds makes it sparkle at its best while gold jewelry looks appealing in warmer white-colored lights. It’s always best to check where to place the lights and what color temperature to use not only for greater visual impact but more importantly for you to be able to close a deal.
3. Design a head-turning window display
If jewelry pictures are used to attract online shoppers, the window display is for physical jewelry stores. Design an irresistibly head-turning window display by using your jewelry pieces to create a story. It is also recommended to rotate window displays more often so you don’t bore shoppers with the same “story” again and again. This should drive window shoppers inside your jewelry store.
Jewelry Website
4. Synchronize your physical jewelry store and online jewelry store/website
Make it easier for the shoppers to identify your location, your contact number, your business hours, and a store locator if you have numerous branches.
5. Use your topmost header to entice your shoppers with free shipping, if you offer it.
According to the National Retail Federation, 47% of polled online shoppers want their merchandise delivered not just quickly but for free. If you offer 100% free shipping or free shipping with a minimum amount of purchases, be straightforward so your shoppers will not hesitate to buy from you.
On the other hand, if you charge shoppers for shipping, that’s fine too. In fact, more than 40% of polled shoppers are even willing to pay extra for faster delivery while others care more about free return shipping. It just depends on their priorities. What’s more important is to manage their shipping expectations to avoid any hassle.
6. Keep website visitors from bouncing by adding jewelry videos
There are 3 essential jewelry videos to add to your website. It can be perishable and/or nonperishable like your homepage explainer and an ‘about us’ video. A how-to video is also a good addition to your online strategy. All these videos help interrupt your visitors’ browsing habit of skimming, skipping, and bouncing.
Watch an example jewelry video below demonstrating how to photograph a ring with lots of tiny diamonds using the GemLightbox and an iPhone (or any smartphone).
7. Rotate your website banner
Rotating your website banner regularly is as important as rotating your in-store merchandise. Use this space to feature and direct shoppers’ attention on a new jewelry collection, best-selling pieces, new arrivals, pieces that are back in stock, and more. Be imaginative.
8. Give shoppers the option to personalize their jewelry pieces
Don’t hesitate to check out the jewelry websites of leading luxury brands to see what they have that you don’t have, and find a way to integrate it into your online jewelry store. Blue Nile, as pictured below, exemplifies this type of personalization as it offers shoppers the option to build their engagement ring based on their unique style and preferences.
Personalization shows your understanding that your shoppers are different from each and therefore, needs unique shopping experiences. In fact, 45% of luxury shoppers demand personalized products and services.
9. Use high-quality jewelry images only
It goes without saying that when you’re selling online, you don’t need to compromise on quality in terms of jewelry images. Your product images should be able to drive foot traffic to your physical store. Take-down those that don’t serve you and replace it with crisp and clear photos showing different jewelry angles.
The angles above were all taken using the GemLightbox and a smartphone. Click here to learn how to capture the best shooting angles for your rings.
10. Offer click & collect or click & reserve if you can.
Divide your omnichannel efforts into different touchpoints such as Click & Collect or Click & Reserve if you can. In this age of omnichannel retailing, shoppers who use four or more channels before buying end up spending 9% more in-store and 10% more online.
Social Media Presence
11. Add social media sharing buttons
Add social media sharing buttons to encourage shares and likes. Don’t forget to make the buttons easy to find.
12. Take advantage of user-generated content
Eighty-four percent of millennials reported that user-generated content on the brand’s website has a major influence on their buying decisions. Start incorporating it into your website not only to showcase your product being worn by real people but more importantly to encourage and make them feel that they’re part of your success.
Like Stella & Dot, invite your shoppers to share their style by posting their photos wearing your jewelry and tagging it using your official hashtag on Twitter or Instagram.
13. Make your Instagram feed visually appealing
Stand out by jazzing up your Instagram feed. There are different ways to do this to establish consistency. For instance, Elverd Designs uses a recurring theme that lets shoppers associate colorful jewelry designs with their environment. It’s not only visually appealing, which draws users in, it’s also a breath of fresh air in a noisy world of Instagram.
14. Use different types of photos to showcase your jewelry pieces
We already discussed the pros and cons of white background photography and lifestyle photography. However, social media platforms are the best avenue to settle this debate as it allows you to be playful, crazy, wild, and creative.
Post different types of jewelry photos to show scale, angles, details, production process, packaging, and more. It tells your shoppers who you really are. Express your brand and do it well with photos.
15. Talk to your followers
Social media is two-way communication. Connect and engage with your audience as much as possible to establish a meaningful relationship with them. It will help you build shoppers’ trust and confidence in your brand. Don’t leave them hanging in the comment section if they ask you a question.
16. Post regularly
No matter which social media platform you use, remember to post regularly. Posting irregularly can easily make you forgettable and will derail all your initial social media efforts. There are many tools now, like Hubspot and Buffer, that allow you to schedule your social media posts, so it doesn’t eat too much of your time. Take advantage of them.
Customer Service and Satisfaction
17. Have a stress-free return and refund policy
Aside from faster delivery, shoppers also value a stress-free return and refund policy. 23% of polled shoppers stated that this is one of many shipping-related factors that can sway them to buy from a brand.
18. Have a jewelry expert on board
Have a certified gemologist available in-store and online in case shoppers need to get expert advice before buying. Shoppers who are very meticulous about gemstones would appreciate the gesture.
19. Teach your staffs how to provide a concierge experience
Offer a more personalized service by acting as a concierge. Data analytics is a way for your concierges to understand your shoppers’ behaviors, needs, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and values. From here, you should be able to provide an exceptional concierge service that truly connects with your shoppers.
Amazon is one of the perfect examples of this. It knows its people’s shopping needs and shows them the products that may appeal to their interest.
20. Manage shoppers’ repair needs if you have the resource for an on-site goldsmith
Alterations, engraving, and resizing are some of the additional services your shoppers may need and think of before buying from you. If you can accommodate on-site jewelry repair services, you’ll lessen the many pain points of jewelry shopping.
And there you have it! What other suggestions can you think of in terms of improving a jewelry store no matter the entry points? Feel free to share in the comment section below!
