Four steps for building bridal jewellery sales

With interest in the bridal category increasing over the past couple of years, DAVID BROWN states now is a good time for jewellers to pay attention to this dazzling sector and outlines key areas for consideration.

One thing is sure: people will always get married. Some businesses might have experienced a brief lull in sales in previous years but various jewellers are now benefitting from improved sales in the bridal market as consumer confidence rises.

Building bridal sales, specifically in diamond jewellery, requires a long-term commitment. With hard work and patience, retailers can make bridal sales an essential part of business; however, they need to consider several aspects when developing a strategy.

Here is a run-down of four areas that all retailers should consider when looking to strengthen their share of bridal diamond sales. This list should also serve as a useful reminder for those businesses that already have a handle on the bridal sector.

Customer benefits

Customers need a reason to buy. All customers have some reservations, especially where large purchases are concerned, so it is necessary to address these reservations to bring customers to the point of purchase.

Here are some questions to consider:

• Does the store offer customers a diamond-protection guarantee?
• Does the store have a diamond pledge or aggressive trade-in policy?
• Is there an in-store financial option available to consumers?
• Does the store offer and encourage lay-by terms?
• How and where will the merchandise be displayed?
• Is there a referral program?
• Does the store offer customisation whereby customers can either change an existing design or create their own unique pieces?
• Does the store offer gifts with purchase? In the case of engagement rings, one such gift might be a bag containing a jewellery cleaner, appraisal, list of warranties/services, tips for how to preserve jewellery and gift cards for other bridal-related businesses.

The right inventory

Inventory is of prime importance. It might sound obvious but for the customer to buy, the selection has to be right. It is a fact that a good-selling item doing well in one store or market will continue to be a good seller elsewhere. There is plenty of data available about the best-selling pieces and their suppliers so retailers can use this information to their best advantage.

Here are some important questions to ask:

• What percentage of bridal sales does the store currently have?
• What percentage of bridal sales does the store want to reach?
• Does the store have a branded bridal line, an unbranded line or a combination of both? The purpose of this question is to gauge if jewellers have an adequate ‘Strategic Bridal Plan’ – do they simply buy bridal product because others say they should and then hope it sells or are they genuinely building their store as a bridal brand? Stores can position themselves as bridal destinations by stocking well-known third-party bridal brands or by creating their own bridal brand
• What average engagement retail price does the store currently offer and what should it be?
• Which diamond size and shape does the store sell most currently?
• Importantly, does the business have a good selection of inventory?

The right marketing

Jewellers need to ensure consumers think of them when considering bridal. Retailing is a numbers game and retailers must constantly work at this in order to get the sales.

Initial questions to be asked include:

• Does the business need additional marketing support? If the answer is yes, then what is the budget?
• What other resources are needed to make the bridal category successful? Determine the business’ definition of success and how it will be measured. For example, the business may aim to increase bridal sales by X dollars by X date
• Where will the customers come from?

Good staff

Retailers must put as much effort into selling their product as they do in buying it. If staff members are disinterested or uninformed in the business of selling diamonds then sales are destined to remain stagnant.

Consider these questions:

• Which employees can sell bridal?
• Are turnovers – where the most qualified staff take over a large diamond sale from an inexperienced member – enforced?
• Which employees have the highest average retail in bridal?
• What does the ongoing ‘bridal’ training program look like?

Following through on these four aspects will help retailers shape their bridal business as an effective contributor of overall sales.