How are you maximizing the in-store experience?

One jeweler connects to local mining history, while another uses technology and refreshments to reach out to customers.

By Phyllis Schiller

DAVID LAMPERT
OWNER, LESTER LAMPERT
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

For new customers, even before we talk specifics, we want them to know that we design and make most of our own jewelry. So we give them a full tour of the store, including the shop where the jewelry is actually made. We have a lot of in-store branding touches — bottles of water and little candies with our name on them — that help establish our identity.

“The fact that we design and make our own rings means we can work with customers who provide their own stones. Today’s buyers have done their homework before they walk in, and more and more we’re seeing that they’re buying diamonds online. We can create something special for them, whether they’ve inherited the stones or bought them somewhere else.

“We usually start with a sketch, which we do right in front of customers. Not everyone wants to be involved in every aspect, but if somebody does, I can send them a CAD rendering of the piece, and then the grown 3-D model with the stones laid in, so they can see the various stages. We do that quite often.

“We use technology to keep people engaged, particularly the younger buyers, especially the millennials. More often than not, we’ll do FaceTime when we start the design, and we can show them live viewing from the design shop. When I’m working with the CAD program, I can set up the phone so that during FaceTime, we can discuss certain aspects of the design.

CHRIS WATTSSON
OWNER, WATTSSON & WATTSSON JEWELERS,
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN

Our setup is unique in that we have a 100-foot-long ‘mine’ that takes up about half of our store. The recreation of the actual mine that was in the area and the history of local mining draws a lot of tourists. People who go through the mine end up at what we call our ‘Rock Room,’ which is a gift-shop-type area. And then we have our main selling floor. People do wander around the store after they’ve seen the mine. It’s a good way to bring in customers.

“Another extra we offer customers is free ring cleaning and checking the condition of jewelry; the piece doesn’t have to have been bought from us. It’s a good upsell as well. If we see problems with the ring, for instance, we can discuss [how] we can fix it.

“Our showroom is approximately 4,000 square feet. We have a huge island and 10 chandeliers on the ceiling to provide lighting. We have multiple drawers full of wax rings to show the customers. Often, when a client is looking for a custom design, they have the stones and an idea of what they want. Sketching and showing them examples is a good first step to figuring out what customers are actually looking for.

“For the most part, depending on the design and what the customer wants to be done, we can customize just about anything. And what we are seeing is, probably 80% of our bridal [customers] want to customize the design and make it their own. With the aid of computers and CAD, everything is made a little easier.

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - October 2018. To subscribe click here.

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