Sales Strategy
As Employers and Employees Butt Heads Over Remote Work, What Does It Mean For Jewelry Sales? July 21, 2021 (0 comments)
New York, NY—40% of U.S. employees are not happy about the idea of returning to work in an office, but almost as many employers are going to expect them to. Image: Infographic from SmartBrief's study on remote work.
These are some of the findings from a new study conducted by SmartBrief, in collaboration with TechRadar Pro. The study polled some 1,200 US-based professionals across SmartBrief’s reader network, including managers to directors to business owners, with a 50/50 split between male and female respondents, says the newsletter.
Not all employees are dreading a return to the office. A full 35% of respondents to the SmartBrief survey said they were happy to be back at work, and 26% said they were neutral. Meanwhile, 36% of employers polled have a scheduled return-to-office date on the books, and 26% are already back in the office. 38% still have no date set for employees to return.
But employees aren’t planning to stay home in sweatpants forever: more than half (52%) said they’d like a hybrid situation with some days spent in the office and some days at home.
See the full SmartBrief article and infographic here.
One thing that is changing is consumers’ fashion preferences. In an interview with the Associated Press, Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores of the family-owned retailer, said as the COVID pandemic wanes, people are looking to reinvent themselves, fashion-wise, and no longer want to wear the same clothes they did 18 months ago. But what they won’t sacrifice is comfort—he says denim, athleisure, and casual styles are trends holding over from the pandemic. The “new suit” may be a pair of jeans and a sportcoat, Nordstrom said.
As jewelers know, 2020 was a banner year for fine jewelry sales. Between shifting priorities that drove emotional purchases of jewelry, the durability and timelessness of fine jewelry is appealing to consumers increasingly concerned about sustainability.
Additionally, over the past year, jewelers have already reported an increase in sales of jewelry that looks good in a video call. As the work world shifts to a post-pandemic setup, The Centurion predicts that’s a trend that’s going to remain strong: jewelry that looks good with a variety of fashion options and stands out both in person and online. Recent examples include the return of heavier collar necklaces and bigger, bolder hoop earrings. Here are some necklace examples from (top to bottom) DA Gold, Fope, Lika Behar; and hoop earring examples (top to bottom) from AJD Platinum, Hulchi Belluni, and Tara Pearls.
