With the massive growth in online shopping year after year, it may seem that the internet is the store of the future. However, according to Forbes, brick-and-mortar stores account for 90% of retail sales in North America. While ‘e-commerce’ is a hot buzzword in retail sales, the in-store experience is still the leading driver for the modern shopper.
In the diamond jewelry industry, there is certainly growth in online sales and this is set to continue. Additionally, the process of researching diamonds online is very common among consumers. However, it’s important to note, the vast majority of diamond purchases are still made inside the physical jewelry store.
Like all retail sectors, diamond jewelry retailers are constantly facing the challenge of getting customers to visit their stores. Yet, once the customer is already inside, there’s another immediate challenge to contend with - how to engage the customer, spark their interest, and lead them into the sales process.
Make the In-Store Experience Count
According to KPMG, the main reason people prefer the in-store to online shopping experience is that it allows them to “see, feel and experience the product in person.”
The experience the customer has - with your product, your brand, your in-store service, and your store design - all contribute to the development of an emotional connection that drives sales.
When purchasing diamonds, the cost to the customer is high, both financially and emotionally. A diamond is not a piece of clothing or a pair of shoes. The choice to purchase a specific diamond must be based on more than just the word of the sales representative. The customer must experience the diamond for themselves. To the naked, untrained eye of the regular consumer, it is hard to tell the difference between polished diamonds of a similar size, and the 4Cs are not enough to make a clear distinction between different diamonds. This means that the entire in-store experience is a crucial part of the decision to purchase.
Faced with the combination of changing consumer expectations and the hugely competitive nature of the retail diamond jewelry market, today’s retailers must call on creative, advanced solutions to enhance the in-store experience. And these solutions must be holistic, encompassing the visual, emotional, informational and interactive senses of the customer.
Retail Visual Merchandising – Not a Luxury, but a Necessity
Part of the challenge of selling diamonds is how to explain the tiny features and birthmarks of the diamond that may only be seen through a loupe. Not just seeing them, but also helping the customer understand why these birthmarks make the diamond so special is difficult to achieve.
The sales process will not be effective without the help of visual merchandising tools that clearly demonstrate and describe the diamond features and character in an intuitive, interactive and engaging way. Today’s consumers are accustomed to having experiences - simply lecturing them about all the diamond’s features will not satisfy them.
Rather, diamond retailers need to involve the customer in the purchase process, with all their senses.
Sarine’s Visual Merchandising Tools for Diamond Sellers - Engaging the Customer’s Senses
Selling diamonds demands more than just lab reports. Retailers who want to create an in-store experience that engages customers hearts and minds can utilize a range of visual sales aids developed by the world’s leading diamond technology company, specially for diamond retailers.
Video Cards
Video is one of the most popular and fastest growing media formats. According to 2018 statistics, 54% of consumers want to see more video from brands and businesses. Sarine’s video cards are the ideal way to show video at the point of sale to diamond customers, helping to explain various features and aspects of diamonds via exciting and engaging video. With Sarine video cards, there is no need to fuss with links, laptops or iPads. The video is embedded on a screen inside an attractive brochure, so retailers can instantly show the video to customers, together with supporting image and text information featured in the brochure.
3D Origin Box
While most polished diamonds look very similar to the untrained eye, every rough diamond is unique and exciting. Today’s consumers want information about the provenance and authenticity of their diamonds. Sarine’s traceability solution, the Sarine Diamond Journey™ report, displays the polished diamond’s entire journey from the mine, through polishing and cutting to sparkling gem in the jewelry store. Sarine’s 3D Origin Box is an effective visual tool to help explain the unique properties of rough diamonds. Even many jewelry professionals have never seen or held a rough unpolished diamond. The 3D Origin Box contains a simulated rough diamond, molded from actual rough diamonds of different shapes and sizes at the Sarine Lab, to help customers understand the look and feel of an actual rough diamond. The Origin Box also incorporates the Diamond Journey video, explaining the concept of the traceable diamond story for the customer at the point of sale.
Light Performance Scale Display
Light performance is an excellent way to help customers understand the visual character of diamonds. Beyond the 4Cs, light performance provides another dimension to describe why and how every diamond is different. Helping customers to understand the light performance gradings and scale is made easy with a visual chart that illustrates how diamonds appear at every level of light performance, according to the four parameters of Brilliance, Sparkle, Fire and Light Symmetry. With the help of an attractive, user friendly chart, the sales representative can easily demonstrate the variations in light performance of different diamonds at the point of sale.
For diamond retailers, the most effective in-store experience you can give customers is by speaking their language. That means providing them with in-store merchandising aids to help them understand diamonds on their terms - visually, emotionally, conceptually, experientially.
Would you like to include Sarine’s visual merchandising tools in your in-store diamond sales presentations? Contact us to find out more.
