“The last 10 years have utterly and completely changed how people buy stuff — and that includes jewelry,” says Ron Dylewski, a partner at Jewelry Marketing Consultants in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jewelers are navigating a retail environment that seems to change in a nanosecond, and on top of that, they’re dealing with the challenge of selling to millennials, whose shopping preferences have upended the market. As such, retailers need to integrate their brick-and-mortar and online strategies to focus on the same goal — driving sales.
“Customer service in any retail outlet is vital to a successful and long-term business,” says Jackie LeBental, principal of Barri Luxury Consulting. “Buyers want to feel that all of their needs will be taken care of in a timely and honest manner.”
The concept is equally important online. “All the components of selling at the store level should basically inform how you sell [to] the customer online,” Dylewski points out. “You still want the experience to feel personal, and you want the customer to feel like she is in control.”
Friendly and fast
Whether in-store or on the web, the shopping experience has to be easy. For internet shoppers, that equates to friendly and fast.
Dylewski urges retailers to select e-commerce systems that support a seamless process from browsing to buying. Above all, images must load quickly; users often click off the site if the time exceeds the two to three seconds Dylewski cites as the current industry benchmark.
“It’s not enough to use search engine optimization (SEO) to effectively get them to your site, you must have a system that works,” he stresses.
“An organized, visual representation on e-commerce is just as important as in-store,” affirms LeBental, who suggests following the in-store practice of merchandising by brand, style, gemstone or price. She advises showcasing a range of different price points so the customer experiences your product offering as if she were in your shop.
“It may sound simple, but having a shop icon on the main navigation page typically triggers an immediate response,” she adds.
Less time for old-timers
Most jewelers pride themselves on developing and fostering long-term customer relationships that often span generations. But millennials have caused a seismic shift that threatens the very nature of those relationships, according to Dylewski.
“Many younger people don’t have that ‘connection’ that their parents had with stores and shopping. They buy online,” he says. “This generation does not see longevity as a necessarily positive attribute. Advertising, ‘We’ve been in business for 100 years’ might mean to them that the store is old and stodgy. A new designer with a pop-up store will have a lot more cred.”
As such, he cautions retailers not to devote too much of their marketing budget, especially online, to promoting their personal histories.
“It’s all directed to the sales funnel,” he says. “At the end of the day, you want to make it easier for the customer to buy. Isn’t that what retailers are striving for? If the sale happens online — bravo!”
Image: Talisman CollectionArticle from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2018. To subscribe click here.