v8 13th Oct with toc

Ways to increase foot traffic to a Jewellery Showroom

Surprise your elite customers on their special day by
arranging a dinner at a good restaurant like Adamas Fine
Jewellery of Newton, Massachusetts did. They will be your
loyal customers for life and are sure to bring in more
business for you.
15. Courteous staff and cordial service
Train your staff well with the help of expert Retail
consultants like Retail Gurukul. Your staff must be ever-
smiling, courteous, respectful and knowledgeable. Extend
exemplary customer service by inviting customers warmly,
seating them comfortably and offering them beverages to
drink.
A smile and good service always brings more foot traffic to
your jewellery store.
Ideas are plenty to increase foot traffic to your jewellery
store. Just think innovatively or gain the help of Retail
Gurukul to get customers to make a beeline for your
store.

Tip:
Offer tips on jewellery selection or on the various types of
gems available long with lovely photographs and forward to
your customers on social media along with a daily discount.

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

Chapter - 7

Ways to improve your Jewellery Window Display.

Look at the sparkling diamond necklace in that shop display.
It shimmers and shines and catches the eye of every
passer-by. One look at it and any woman would want it to
be worn around her neck the next minute. This is the effect
of effective "window display" at jewellery showrooms.

Why window display is crucial for jewellery
showrooms?

1. Jewellery attains its full value only when it is noticed.
The best way to draw attention to your jewellery collection is
by displaying prominently in an attractive window display.

2. Great designs garner instant sales only when they
are showcased.

The artistry of your design is best exhibited only when it is
under a spotlight in a window display. Kya diktha hai, wo
bikta hai (what is seen, is saleable) is an old salesman
saying

3. Window displays increase sales by 50%
Studies reveal that placing a product under a spotlight
increases its sales by 50%.

4. Window/ Counter displays curate the best collection
In today's world, the busy shopper has no time to go
searching for the best designs. Your jewellery shop window
display is the solution to this. It offers a carefully-chosen and
curated collection of the best designs. All a consumer has
to do is pick from the window display as the best is
showcased here. In many a case, even the “counter” or

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Ways to improve your Jewellery Window Display
back wall display is also considered as Window Display.
Thus, you need to pay attention to the jewellery that is
displayed in these as well.

Ways to showcase the best window display for your
jewellery showroom
1. Space matters

Yes, window displays need space to display the select
jewellery pieces prominently. Allocate the most prominent
and front-facing area of your shop with highest visibility to
your window display

2. No cramping or crowding
Some jewellers feel they have to show it all and clutter up
the window display with all the items they have. This may

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing
not work too. Crowding the window display makes it
unappealing and leaves no scope for selection.

Instead, select just the best -sellers or the new and catchy
designs and place them on the shelves. Even 2 or 3 will do,
but they should be the highlight of your shop.
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Ways to improve your Jewellery Window Display
3. Arrange interestingly

Arranging the items in a window display is a art. Place the
bigger or showy ones at the top or bottom. Intersperse
these with smaller ones. Or you can keep the bigger ones at
floor level of the display window and elevate the smaller
ones to a height using some support. Displaying at different
heights creates an interesting visual impact.
4. Size the display stands right

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing
Your jewellery collection is an assortment of various sizes-
long chains and necklaces, short necklaces, hip chains,
bangles etc. Display long necklaces on tall stands to give an
impression of great length. Place short choker pieces on
wide display stands to emphasize their girth. Use gabled
displays or tiered displays to display multiple pieces of
jewellery in an organized manner.

5. Use props and mannequins
Mannequins and props help to highlight the prominence of
the jewellery item. The types of props you can use are

● Mannequin busts for necklaces
● Arm or hand moulds for bangle, bracelet and ring

display
● Face figurines for ear rings and nose pins.
● A full mannequin figure to display a bridal collection

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Ways to improve your Jewellery Window Display

6. Use striking visuals

Just an ordinary window display
goes unnoticed. Use striking
visuals to enhance the appeal of
your jewellery.

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

7. Evolve themes for your window display

Make your window display fresh and trendy by evolving a
theme for its display. The theme may be based on
● an upcoming festival or season to create a hype around

the occasion.- like the Valentine's day collection - see
pic.
● a signature line of jewellery
● a thematic collection like Meenakari jewellery this month
and Pachchikam jewellery the next.

8. Use contrasting colours for the props to highlight the
jewellery

Colours play an important role in highlighting jewellery when
used in contrast.
● Black offsets the bright shine of gold and diamonds
● Some people consider black inauspicious and use

maroon or dark blue instead.
● White or beige makes the colours of rubies, emeralds

and sapphires stand out.
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Ways to improve your Jewellery Window Display

Some people choose to highlight only one best-selling piece
by displaying it in a contrasting colour like this

9. Use product display pyramids Product display

Glass pyramids also offer pyramids are the "in-
a tiered display to display thing” in jewellery
many jewellery items at
once. window display.

These glass

pyramids draw

attention to the

product instantly.

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing
10. Be different
Create a difference in your shop window display to make it
instantly eye-catching.

11. Light is your might
Yes, lighting offers the best effect for your jewellery window
display. Use low hung lamps, spotlights, focus lamps or
case lighting to enhance the beauty of each piece of
jewellery and watch it shine a shade more.
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Ways to improve your Jewellery Window Display

Tip:
Look at this novel mode of jewellery display within the
pages of a book. Be innovative and experiment new ideas.

Keep changing your window display often to create a
ripple in the market.
Window display is your window to more customers,
sales and visibility.

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing
52

Window shopping to worthwhile shopping

Chapter - 8

Window shopping to worthwhile shopping - how to
achieve this paradigm shift?

Many times we see customers entering the jewellery shop,
browsing the shelves, discussing the designs and after a
total detour of the shop, just walking out. Most jewellery
shop owners dismiss these customers as "window-
shoppers". But do you realize that every of them can be a
potential customer? TP or Time Pass is one of the “slangs”
that Sales staff often uses to identify the customer and even
ignore such customers after the first few minutes.

How to convert window shoppers to actual buyers?

Good question. But first analyze why the person is only
window-shopping and not buying?

1. Is she looking for a particular design?
2. Does she have a budget constraint?
3. Is she comparing prices or designs?
4. Is she indecisive about what to buy?
5. Are there any inherent fears that prevent her from buying

immediately?

Your sales staff must be able to decipher all these in order
to convert the window shopper into an actual buyer.

Steps to convert the window shoppers into actual buyers

1. Understand them
Window shoppers have not just walked into your jewellery
store to take shelter from rainy weather. Something must

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

have prompted them to come to your store. What is it? Talk
to them and understand why they came to your store in the
first place? Probe gently and there lies the answer to
converting them.

This can be done by asking leading questions, rather than a
general “how can I help you?”

Ask questions like “can i show you the latest finger ring in
our collection or our best-selling jewellery piece? This way,
a customer is more likely to be attracted to the product or
come out with an answer, which can lead you to the next
step in the sales process, ie ask more questions or show
case something of her interest.

2. Gauge their needs and constraints
Be patient, greet them with a smile and gauge their needs
and identify their constraints.

● Is the customer planning to buy jewellery for a
festivity or for investment?

● Why is she hesitating to make the purchase?
● Is the price the limiting factor?

3. Give them a small "sales push"
Indecisive window shoppers usually look at designs and
scan the shelves. But one particular design might make
them look twice. Follow their eye movement and observe
their body language to discern which design lures them
most. Now give them a small sales push.

● Pick the design from the shelf and show it up close.
● Talk to them about the design and its value points.
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Window shopping to worthwhile shopping

● If you have an offer going on for that design, this is
the time to reveal it.

These are subtle sales tactics you can employ to gently
nudge the customer to conversion.

4. Give them a feel of the jewellery
● Get them to try the design on. This is definitely going
to win their favour. Most women cannot resist the
jewellery after it has been worn once.
● Jewellery shopping is a tangible experience. Allow
the customer to savour the richness of the jewellery.
This will leave them with a memory they would never
want to miss.

5. Suggest alternatives
● If they still hesitate, suggest some alternatives like
scaled- down designs fitting into their budget, light
weight jewellery etc.
● If payment is the limiting factor, suggest EMI or chit
options.
● If you have exchange options for old jewellery,
suggest this as a cost-cutting measure.
● Better still, if you feel that new offers are coming up,
inform them and ask them to wait.

6. Advise them
● If you can't sell, don't stop at that. Just advise them
on how better they can plan their purchase.
● Talk to them about market scenario, gold pricing,
future trends etc.

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

7. Build trust in your brand or store
● Induce a feeling of trust and good opinion about your
store. This will make them come back for repeat
sales.
● Offer them your pamphlet, catalogues and brochures
for future reference.

8. Get a commitment or a relationship
● Before they leave, get a commitment from them- a
date to contact again with their contact details.
● If not, try getting their contact details to send them
newsletters and offer mailers.
● Build a relationship before they leave and make sure
they remember you.
● Ask them to visit your Facebook page or Instagram
page and give you a rating of the store.

9. Keep the connection live.
● Maintain contact with them even after their visit.
● Send them a personal note thanking them for their
visit and mentioning a special offer for them.
● Keep wishing them on their birthdays and
anniversaries. They are bound to return to you.

Window shoppers need not necessarily be just
"passing clouds". Make them “rain fortune” on you by
converting them into loyal customers.

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Ways to optimize pricing in a Jewellery Showroom

Chapter - 9

Ways to optimize pricing in a Jewellery Showroom.

Jewellery purchase is mostly about "price", hoping that this
will not be a "surprise"! Yes, the moment a customer wants
to purchase jewellery, the first question she asks is about
the price of the gold on that day. Of course, there are many
customers who may decide upon the purchase first and
discuss the price or brand later.

But Price is such a decisive factor in jewellery purchase and
therefore it decides not only your profitability but also your
reputation as a reliable jewellery store. This is why jewellery
retailers must pay special attention to optimize pricing in
their jewellery showroom.

Pricing your jewellery too low is out of the question as it is
not profitable and it also earns you mistrust as the customer
doubts the quality of gold you use. Pricing high dissuades
the customer from buying. So every jewellery retailer must
strike a balance and opt for seasonal changes in pricing
through special discounts and budget for the bargaining
customer.

Currently, there is no standard pricing or invoicing policy for
jewellery across the country. Many cities have their own
jewellery association which declares the gold rate every
morning. In some cases, the jeweller himself decides on his
gold rate to be used for the jewellery. As a result, the gold
rate varies from jeweller to jeweller. Right now, the pricing
equation followed in India for jewellery is -

Price of the gold ornament is = (Price of 22K gold) *
(Weight in Grams + Wastage) + ( Making Charges) +
GST at 3% on (Price of jewellery + making charges)

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

Here the making charges and wastage play the key role in
influencing the customer's purchase decision as this varies
from shop to shop

How to optimize the pricing in your jewellery store?

For a jewellery retailer, the pricing strategy depends upon a
number of factors.

1. Study the market

Jewellery retail is an ever-changing market with fluctuations
in the gold rate very day. As a jewellery retailer, you must
study the market trends not only in your city but in other
states as well from where your customers can also shop.
For Example, a Tirupati-based customer can shop in
Tirupati, but also in say Chennai, which is the hub of
jewellery retailing. This will help you determine your market
competition. In addition, conduct a competitor survey to
glean information on what pricing your co-players in the
market are offering for the same designs.

2. Decide your price profile based on our brand positioning

Do you want to categorize yourself as a "people's jeweller"
offering affordable jewellery or you would rather be a "high-
end" jeweller catering to the exclusive elite? Determining
your pricing profile is going to have a great bearing on your
store reputation, number of customers etc.

3. Take a stock inventory

Do an inventory check to determine, how much of old stock
is lying around. Here old stock refers to the old designs
which have been sitting on your shelves for more than a
year. Your first priority would be to liquidate this aged stock.
This might require a slight reduction in prices through an
offer or a discount sale. Price this stock such that you still
stand to gain a minimum margin in spite of the discount.

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Ways to optimize pricing in a Jewellery Showroom

This is possible as you would have purchased the stock last
year and the prices would have risen by now. Pricing the
old stock cleverly can make you accomplish 2 goals- stock
liquidation plus profits. Sometimes, it makes sense to offer a
incentive to your staff to motivate to sell these older items.

4. Making charges and wastage

These are the challenges in the jewellery business.
Wastage often runs form 2-25% while making charges are
fixed and vary from jeweller to jeweller. How much to charge
thus depends on your overall pricing strategy.

Every customer thinks the Indian jeweller is minting money
through making charges and wastage while actually some
of you might even be able to cut corners with these costs.
How to rate/ fix the making charges and wastage profitably
without affecting the customer?

● Negotiate with the artisans or goldsmiths for a better
pricing on making charges assuring them of bulk
orders.

● Use machine cutting for chains and bangles to
reduce wastage.

● Normally making charges are as follows (though it
depends upon multiple factors.) Example.

Ø Plain gold jewellery- 200 per gm
Ø Studded jewellery - 40% more - 280-300 per gm
Ø Machine cut- 6-8%
Ø Straight jewellery- 2-4%

● For studded jewellery, evaluate the cost of gold
without stones and charge for stones separately.
Tanishq was one of the first Indian jewellery brands
to give this bifurcation in pricing for gold and stones
separately. This has brought a sea of change in the
customer's mind-set regarding pricing with increased

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

awareness and alertness. Following this pricing
methodology will earn the trust and confidence of
customers.

5. Enlighten the customer

Be transparent with the customer and educate them on the
facts that

a. Wastage depends on the type and intricacy of design.
b. Studded, antique and carved jewellery incur more

wastage than plain designs.
c. Normally, hand crafted jewellery has higher making

charges.

Enlightening the customer and then talking about the pricing
will earn you trust and profit in the long run.

6. Work with your vendors with a Win-Win approach.

Too often, we have seen buyers, wanting the best deal from
the vendors each time. Just like you would like to make a
profit when selling to a customer, the vendor too wants to
make a profit when he is selling to you, the retailer.

If you push the vendor too hard and squeeze the last rupee
of margin from him, he might agree to the order for once.
But sooner or later, he will begin to default on quality,
quantity, delivery schedules etc. He will also start to look for
another buyer who will give him a better return on his
product.

Then, you are likely to face unnecessary additional
problems of missed deliveries, unhappy retail consumers
faced with lower quality products etc. You might even need
to start searching for a new vendor all over again.

Work with vendors with a long term win-win approach, so
that both sides have a stake of helping each other. As a

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Ways to optimize pricing in a Jewellery Showroom

retailer, there are enough consumer facing challenges, not
to want to add on back end related worries.
7. Discounts and offers
Discounts and offers are like salt and pepper to the
jewellery consumer. Every customer looks forward to these
price-savings especially during festive seasons. Indian
jewellers also make gross reduction in pricing during
auspicious days like DhanTeras or Akshaya Tritiya and
during festivals as these are jewellery shopping seasons.
Earmark discounts and offers on pricing, considering factors
like

● Assured sale and profitability
● Quick liquidation of stock,
● Forthcoming price increase etc.
● Special discounts especially on old aged stocks
There is a lot more to learn on discounts and offers which
will be covered in the next chapter.
Remember, right price can earn a loyalty among customers
and respect among other jewellery retailers.
"So price your jewellery right and turn customers into
your might."

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

Chapter - 10

How are seasonal discounts decisive factors in
increasing Jewellery sales

Festivals and auspicious occasions are intricately woven
into the tapestry of Indian culture and the Indian jewellery
trade. Every second month comes up a festival or
auspicious occasion and with it comes a downpour of
discounts and deals. The Indian customer is ready to lap up
the discount offers like milk and honey! So like other retail
businesses, the jewellery retail industry too, depends on
seasonal offers and discounts to increase the sales.

Why seasonal discounts and offers matter?

● The Indian calendar is dotted with festivals and
occasions every month. Such festivities are normally
associated with jewellery purchase to augur good
fortune to the family. To attract customers, offering
special festival discounts have become the norm.

● During festivals like Diwali or Pongal, the government
employees get their bonus which is a bulk amount
used often for investment in gold. To lure the
customers to invest heavily in gold purchase, higher
discounts are offered.

● Certain auspicious days like DhanTeras or Akshaya
Tritiya are specifically linked with gold purchase as
families buy gold on these days and worship God
with gold coins.

● Occasions like Valentine's Day, Father's day and
mother's day are being highlighted recently to push
sales further with special offers.

● Even Christmas and Eid which were earlier
conducted in an austere fashion have become
occasions for jewel purchase.

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How are seasonal discounts decisive factors in increasing sales

● Certain festivals like Varalakshmi Pooja, Karva
Chauth or Vijayadasami have become occasions for
women to buy new jewellery.

With gold being such a high-priced commodity frequent
purchases are not easy for an average customer. Thus, the
only option is for a retailer is to offer such discounts and
offers during festivals to boost sales.

How to boost jewellery sales using seasonal discounts
and offers?

1. Read your customers

Assess the footfall of customers during festive seasons.
This may vary from one shop to another shop in another
location depending on

● the type of customers you cater to- For example.
middle class customers find it convenient to purchase
gold during Diwali, New Year or Akshaya Tritiya. For
the affluent, every day is an occasion.

● the locality your store is in- If your store is located in
a North Indian niche, you can expect customers
during DhanTeras. In a South Indian locality,
Akshaya Tritiya, Onam,Ugadi, Pongal, Diwali or
Dussehra are the best for buying gold. In a Muslim -
dominated area, sales are bound to shoot only during
weddings. Christians normally purchase gold for their
engagements and weddings or during Christmas.

Make a list of the days or occasions where you had
maximum sales. Some festivals may attract crowds to your
store but how many actually bought and why? Analyze.

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

2. Offer a seasonal discount only if it is worth it.
During a festival, every jeweller in town is offering a
discount and the competition is intense. Do not just join the
competition blindly and offer heavy discounts. Instead,
evaluate whether giving a discount of this size has worked
for you earlier. If not, you can test-market by offering this
discount moderately for few days and judge the outcome.
Offer a seasonal discount only if you think it is worth the
trouble. or if you are desperate to liquidate stock.

3. Be different in your discounts
10% off on making charges, Zero wastage- all this has
become common phrases during festive time. Try
something different.

● Tanishq offered a 20% discount on making charges
with an additional 5% with State Bank debit and
credit cards

● GRT offered silver items free for the weight of gold
etc.

● PC Jewellers has cleverly coined its discount deal as
"20% off on diamond jewellery" and "20% off on
making charges of gold jewellery". Here the 20%
looms large and draws the customer to the store.

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How are seasonal discounts decisive factors in increasing sales

● Durga Jewellers of Bangalore goes a step further
with its 'Buy 1 , get 2 " offer on Solitaire jewellery.
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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing
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How are seasonal discounts decisive factors in increasing sales
4. Make an impact with the discount offer
Evolve print or social media campaigns based on this
discount offer and spread the word around. Intimate your
customers of this offer by email, SMS, voice call, Whatsapp
or FB messages. Make sure that your discounts make an
impact on the customer and draw her to your store.
Kamadhenu Jewellers of Chennai has marketed this ad
across Facebook and received good response.

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

5. Special discounts as a mark of loyalty or regular
purchase.

Discount depends on your discretion. Turn it into a
favourable asset. Yes, it is possible if you offer discounts to

● Loyal customers who have been purchasing jewellery
from you for ages, from generation to generations.

● Customers who have brought in many referrals
through friends and relatives.

● Frequent shoppers who make small but regular
purchases.

This not only enhances your customer loyalty but also
assures of more purchases in the future years.

The How, When and Why of discounts

It is not just the discount that matters. It is the How, When
and Why that do.

1. How- How you present your discount?

A 20% off on diamond jewellery sounds lame but a Celerio
car or an LCD TV sounds huge. The price of both may be
equal but in the customer's yes, the physical representation
as a car has great bearing like in this ad.

2. When -When to offer the discount?

Offer discounts when your competitors are not even close.
Offer discounts for your shop anniversary, founder's day or
even a special discount for the customer's birthday. Make a
difference in the timing of the discount to render it exclusive.

3. Why -Why you are offering the discount?

Convey the reason for the discount to the customer- as a

● Festive gift
● Profit-sharing measure
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How are seasonal discounts decisive factors in increasing sales
● Mark of the customer's loyalty.

This will increase the respect and trust among your regular
customers.
“Dishing out discounts, anyone can do. But offering
well thought out discounts is the key to successful
jewellery retailing. “

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

Chapter - 11

How Saving Schemes really work for Jewellery Retail

Gold is an integral part of all celebrations and festivities in
India. It is considered to be auspicious and holy especially
in Indian culture. This is why this Godly metal is used in
abundance at weddings as part of the bride's trousseau and
bridegroom's gifts.

Why do we need saving schemes for gold?

1. Indian weddings have a custom of offering gold
ornaments in bulk as part of the bride's trousseau. For many
customers, mostly from the lower and middle income
groups, buying gold in bulk at the time of the wedding is not
feasible; Indians tend to invest in gold saving schemes
offered by jewellery retailers. Budget for gold jewellery
forms a significant share of the overall wedding purchases.

2. Most of the Indian populace being predominantly middle-
class, also keep aside a portion of their regular earnings for
accumulation of gold. While gold rates might fluctuate on a
daily basis, wedding purchases are often required to be
planned many months or even years in advance, to
accumulate the total amount of gold required. Therefore,
these families have no choice but to invest in small saving
schemes offered by jewellers to combat the rising prices.

3. From childbirth to even a person's final death ceremony,
gold is used in many rituals. So in order to cope up with
such unforeseen expenses, Indians tend to save through
gold saving schemes and be prepared.

4. Indian economy is always unpredictable. With continuous
changes likes demonetization and GST adding to the
uncertainty. Investment in gold is considered to be a viable

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How Savings Schemes really work for Jewellery Retail

and wise option by many Indians. For the sake of
investment, jewellery retailers offer some saving schemes
where you can purchase 22kt or 24kt gold coins at no loss.
Such schemes are a boon for gold investors. Some even
offer silver coins for accumulation. In some markets like in
Maharashtra, simple gold “rings” called “veni” are used for
accumulation.

5. For many Indians, the amount of gold you hold at home
or you wear on special occasions is a reflection of your
status. This is where saving schemes help customers to
enhance their social status by buying jewellery items and
paying them in instalments.

6. Indian housewives have a craze for gold. They keep
trying and buying new designs every year. Gold saving
schemes help them to satisfy their desires by offering them
easy EMI plans. Some will exchange their old jewellery and
use the proceeds from the saving scheme, to buy bigger
jewellery

How gold saving schemes work?

Under the rules of the government, the effective return on
the deposits cannot be more than 12% and the amount of
deposits has to be within 25% of the company’s net worth.
This rule is said to be applicable to Private and Public
Limited Companies.

Most Gold saving schemes operate only for a 12 month
period where the customer pays 11 equal monthly
installments and the final 12th installment is borne by the
jewellery retailer. On completion of 12 months, the customer
can buy gold at the prevailing market price for the chit
amount.

Some of the extra incentives offered on these schemes are

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

● No making charges
● No GST
● Option of buying gold coins

Another variation of the gold saving scheme is the option of
accruing gold in grams itself as per that day's rate. This
seems to be an attractive proposition for customers as they
visualize their gold saved in terms of its weight in
sovereigns.

Saving schemes offered by Tanishq, GRT, Lalitha, NAC,
Malabar and Joy Alukkas are immensely popular.

How saving schemes work best for jewellery retailers?

1. Assured recurring income

At least 25% of the monthly revenue of jewellery retailers
comes from saving scheme deposits. Jewellery retailers
need not worry about the constant need of cash flow into
the shop or the capital needed for their monthly gold
purchase. The deposits for the saving schemes form an
assured recurring income for the jewellery retailers on a
monthly basis.

2. Better inventory and sales planning

At the start of the month, every jewellery retailer will know
that he will get a fixed amount by the 10th from saving
scheme installments. This helps the jeweller to plan his
inventory off take for the month or outline his promotional
plans.

3. Assured customers

Once a customer enrolls for a jewellery scheme, he /she is
going to be "your" steady customer in 12 months. Saving
schemes thus ensure "customer lock-in" for a specific
period and the jeweller can be assured of his regular

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How Savings Schemes really work for Jewellery Retail
customers. It is up to the skills of the jewellery retailer to
convert these customers into his loyal or permanent ones
through customer service, incentives and promotions.
4. More opportunities for customer engagement and
conversion
Every month, the savings scheme customer is going to walk
into the jewellery store for paying the deposits or at least
interact through phone. The jewellery retailer can use this
opportunity to increase his engagement with the customer
and convert them to more schemes or chit renewals.

Saving schemes are a golden opportunity for jewellery
retailers to retain customers. Do not let go of this
opportunity in enhancing both your revenue and your target
audience.
Saving schemes really mean savings- they save money
for the customer while for jewellery retailers, they save
customers and the money!

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

Chapter - 12

How to get repeat sales for your best-selling jewellery

From the smallest ‘naths’ and nose pins to the longest
‘haarams’ (necklaces) or heaviest ‘oddiyanam’ (hip belts),
your jewellery store is a treasure trove of beautiful and
intricately crafted jewellery. Yet of all your stock, some
jewellery pieces are the favourites and simply roll off the
shelves in days. These bestsellers are the main attraction of
your store and lure the customers with their powerful design
and workmanship.

It is indeed gratifying to note that your store has some real
bestsellers which are in demand. But how to get repeat
sales for your best-selling jewellery? Read these valuable
tips that help you get repeat sales at your jewellery store.

Steps to get repeat sales for your best-selling
jewellery?

1. Identify the bestsellers

Your bestsellers are your star attraction. Study your
purchase history and earmark the items which had the
maximum sales. Now create a separate list of these
bestsellers. This will come handy during your marketing
campaigns.

2. Use pictures of these best sellers in your marketing
campaigns.

Arrange for a professional photo shoot and click attractive
pictures of these best sellers. Use them in your online and
offline marketing campaigns- on your print and TV ads,
hoardings, website, social media pages, press releases and
even PR campaigns. The captivating images of these

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How to get repeat sales for your best-selling jewellery

bestsellers are the key to luring the customers to your
shops.

3. Tag the products as best sellers

Tag a piece as “best seller” in your display windows inside
the store; Train the staff to show the piece and highlight it as
the “best seller”. This is especially useful, when a customer
appears confused about which product to purchase.

4. Display customer testimonials

Seek out the satisfied customers who have successfully
bought these bestsellers and convince them to offer
testimonials either in print or on video. Listening to the
customer's shopping experience and satisfaction over the
design will only enhance the appeal of these ornaments.

5. Evolve rich brand campaigns around these bestsellers

Using these bestsellers, evolve rich campaigns to promote
your brand and store. Package these bestsellers in
irresistible deals and discounts that will attract customers
and assure you repeat sales.

6. Accommodate price reductions into your margins

During non-season times, slash the prices of these
bestsellers to push them further. Your customer has already
an eye on the bestseller and might be hesitating to make
the sale due to price considerations. Accommodate price
reductions into your profit margins to gain repeat sales for
these bestsellers.

7. Offer payment alternatives

It is just arm's length between decision and purchase. Help
customers to bridge this gap by suggesting alternate
payment plans like EMI, discounted credit card payments,
exchanging old jewellery etc.

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The jewellery market is ever-changing with today's new
designs becoming tomorrow's antiques. Yet some designs
are always your bestsellers whatever be the season. Use
these valuable tips from Retail Gurukul to propel customers
towards your store and attain repeat sales.

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Keeping operational costs in check in a Jewellery Showroom

Chapter - 13

Keeping operational costs in check in a Jewellery
Showroom - some tips.

As a jewellery retailer, you have to be cautious about every
penny you spend. Planning for and earning a continuous
profit, is the prime objective of all jewellery retailers. To
achieve this, you must either increase your revenue or
reduce your expenses. Increasing revenue within the scope
of your jewellery store's operation is an external factor,
which may be beyond your control.The other option is to
reduce the operating expenses of your jewellery store.

Whether you spend lavishly or carefully, your jewellery
store's operating expenses have a strong bearing on the
store's overall expenses and ultimately, the achievement of
the budgeted profit. This is because

● Reducing operating expenses has a direct impact on
the store's profit

● Operating expenses can be easily monitored and
streamlined

● Immediate savings is clearly possible.

The money you save from operating expenses can be
utilized for your store inventory or marketing expense etc.
This is why keeping operating costs in check is one of the
foremost responsibilities of a jewellery retailer. How to do
this? Experts Retail Gurukul have an answer to this through
the following suggestions.

1. Reduce office overheads

The first place to start with is your office. Think carefully and
make a list of your office overheads which can be reduced
like

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

● Rent

Is your store rent eating up your income? Is the rent justified
for the location, area and frontage visibility of your jewellery
store? Are you getting enough customers because of your
jewellery store's locational advantage? If not, why not look
for other options like renting only part of the same premises
or changing the store location?

Even, if you own the premises, the opportunity cost of the
underutilised space is a potential income source.

● Electricity costs

Are your electricity expenses hitting the roof? If so, identify
where the problem lies. Is it because the halogen lights are
on in your store throughout the day? Can you switch to
LED or other energy-efficient lighting? Are the AC units
hiking up your bill? Can you switch some of them off when
there are no customers? Checking the efficiency of your air
conditioning units, can help. Many of the air filters will be
clogged and hence the compressors need to work harder to
achieve the same result. So, check, when were they
cleaned and serviced? Is there a leakage of air conditioned
air through the doors? And what is the temperature at
which the air-conditioning systems have been set.-is it 24
Degree? Small steps like these yield big savings.

● Office Productivity

Most of the staff and maybe you the owner, have typically
learnt the use of business software like MS Office products
like Excel, Word etc by “learning and doing” on the job.
Even the business software for accounting whether it is
Tally or any specialised retail business software, has a
number of features which help in day to day operations.
Training the team on better utilisation of the software will
improve the productivity and reduce the impact of errors and
mistakes, which may go undetected as well.

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Keeping operational costs in check in a Jewellery Showroom

2. Better utilisation of staff

Too often, the staff can do much more than they currently
do, if they are motivated properly. They need to be
equipped with proper “talk lines”, skills for building a
relationship, tele calling skills etc.

Then, during the lean times of the store, they can connect
with customers on social media, phone etc and build an
ongoing relationship. But, too often, in the belief, that staff
will “misuse “social media access, stores prohibit the use of
social media by the staff, and thus staff end up “idling” their
time inside the stores for hours on end.

A good mix of training on social media and a definite set of
rules on “dos and don'ts” can help build a good relationship
between customers and the brand, using the “free time of
the staff”.

3. Optimise advertising and marketing costs

Gone are the days when TV and print media used to rule.
You can now harness the power of social media to promote
the sales of your jewellery showroom.

Ø Create Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest pages for
your jewellery store

Ø Click good photos of your jewellery and design your
own posts.

Ø Start posting them regularly on these social media
channels.

Ø Respond to the likes and comments

Ø Collect the email addresses of the visitors who liked
your designs and build your database.

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A Guide to Jewellery Retailing

Ø Start sending emails of your designs, catalogues and
seasonal offers to this audience.

Ø Gear up your website before you begin blasting on
social media as customers normally search for your
store online.

Ø You can also use SMS, cold calling, referrals etc to
generate leads.

You no longer need big-budget advertising for promoting
your SME jewellery store and your advertising budget can
be made to suit your business plans.
5. Reduce packaging costs
Jewellery packaging also adds to the many small costs of a
jeweller store. See if you can use suitable cost effective
packaging.
Most often, the customer uses the packaging, until it
reaches the home or is gifted away. Think of new ways of
creating “eco-friendly packaging” which will also add to your
brand.

Operating costs can be a real onus on your income, if not
regulated properly. At least 25% of your income will be
spent on the operating expenses of your store. So the more
you save on this, the more you can profit.

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How to attract customers to your Jewellery Showroom

Chapter - 14

How to attract customers to your Jewellery Showroom

Your jewellery store is in the heart of the city, at a prime
location and with a plush ambience? Yet are, only a few
customers trickle into your shop compared to all the
investments you have made in this business?. Isn't this
disheartening? Yes but this can be remedied with these
valuable tips from Retail Gurukul.

Attracting customers to their shop is the main worry for
jewellery retailers. A daily influx and steady traffic of
customers is a must to keep the wheels of your business
turning. How to attract customers to your jewellery
showroom?-take a look.

Ways to attract customers to your jewellery showroom.

1. Step up your store layout.

Your store layout must attract customers like bees to a
flower. Right from the outside signage to the interior décor,
everything about your store layout must be eye-catching
and pleasing to the eyes. Make a note of these points put
forth by Retail Gurukul to help you elevate your store layout
in style and appeal.

i. The store frontage of your store is the crowd -puller of
your store. This has to be well-lit, brightly coloured and
designed, to appeal to the customers and make them want
to step inside.

ii. At the entrance of your store, take a look at what is
featured in the front.. Pay attention to what you feature
there. This is because customers are going to spend the

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first few minutes evaluating, if they would like to shop at the
store or not, subconsciously as soon as they enter. Placing
your best sellers is a brilliant idea to capture the attention of
the audience.

iii. Does your store have a walking path? Highlight the
flooring with different tiling to form a walking path throughout
the store. This will help customers make a complete round
of your shop.

iv. Another approach here is to do away with many store
counters. Some entrepreneurs believe that making the staff
stand behind counters divides them from the customers. If
you insist on having counters, arrange for a floor Manager
and some welcome staff to greet customers, interact with
them and show them around the store. This builds your
rapport with your customers.

v. Make your store distinctly stand out among others on
the street or in the bazaar. Paint your store a different
colour, put up an attractive signage or billboard near it or
deck it up outside with lights, balloons or festoons but make
sure that all this catches the customer's eye.

2. Establish your presence online

According to Espresso digital's survey, 91% of the
customers visited a store because of an online experience.
58% of customers who make local searches on their
smartphones visit the store within 24 hours and 50% of the
customers make a purchase within the day. This is why
having a Facebook, Instagram, website and other social
media presence to establish your online presence is a must
for jewellery retailers.

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How to attract customers to your Jewellery Showroom

When customers want some jewellery, they search the web
for designs and take a look at your choices. So it is
imperative that you create an interactive user-friendly
website with attractive visuals to evoke the interest of
customers and lure them to your shop. Your website will
prove very useful to build a database of customers form the
visitors to its landing pages. It will also be helpful during
marketing campaigns and promotional offers.

3. Organize a promotional event

You have a store; you have a social media presence, now
what?

● Create visibility in the market by organising
promotional events. Create a stir by organizing an
event with irresistible offers and discounts. Try to get
maximum mileage of this event by lining up some
local celebrity or influencer to this show. This will
attract customers to your shop.

● Try to maximize visibility by creating social media
posts of this event and posting them online.

● Populate your website with images of this promo
event. Install a Call To Action - CTA on your website
creating an urgency like "Rush" or "Buy now-offers
closing". According to a Shopify's case study, the
sales increased by 332% when an element of
urgency was added.

● Use Red colour for your ads or signs as this will grab
attention immediately. This colour is the one that
alerts the brain for immediate attention.

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4. Reward loyalty and referrals.

If you have a small set of customers, honour them with
loyalty rewards to appreciate their value and contribution to
your business. Now voice your referral program highlighting
the rewards for referrals.

Jewellery retailing is a business that succeeds on "word-of-
mouth". So try to get maximum referrals by satisfying your
regular customers.

5. Spruce up your social media

Maximize your visibility on social media by posting and
engaging audience regularly.

● Keep posting images of your new collections and
also giving useful information on jewellery

● Draw traffic to your site and store by evolving
contests and campaigns for social media

● Issue coupon codes or offers on social media which
can be encashed only at the store. This could draw a
steady stream of customers to your store.

6. Finally, past success is no guarantee for future success
too.

Too many retailers continue to do, what has worked in the
past, even though it might have stopped working now.
Understand that, change is the only constant, and we need
to continuously try out these and other ways to attract
customers to our stores

Drawing customers to your jewellery store is a
combination of art and science
Perfect it with these pointers from Retail Gurukul.

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How to retain customers at aJewellery Showroom
Chapter - 15
How to retain customers at a Jewellery Showroom
Jewellery retailers are advised to follow the proverb "A bird
in hand is worth two in the bush", when it comes to their
customers.. This means holding onto the existing customers
than go hunting for new ones. But is retaining customers
such an easy task? Absolutely not! In this present scenario
of intense competition, invasion of online media and
abundance of choices in the product range, it is very difficult
to hold on to the existing customers as your competitor is
always eager and ready to welcome them. . Remember, in
this competition, you are one against “many competitors”.

Why is customer retention "all-important' for jewellery
business?
The above infographic clearly explains it all.

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Customer retention is the key to repeat sales for your
jewellery business and repeat customers spend 3 times
more than one-time shoppers.
So concentrate on customer retention to get an assured
income from these repeat shoppers to grow your business.
How to achieve customer retention for your jewellery store
then? Retail Gurukul is here to lend a helping hand by
offering this valuable guidance as tips.
Ways to retain customers at a jewellery showroom.
1. Providing peerless customer service
Customer service is the key to the treasure box of customer
retention.

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How to retain customers at aJewellery Showroom

This is the area where brick and mortar jewellery retailers
can easily score over online stores. Online stores may offer
home delivery or increase customer's expectations by
offering many payment options etc, but the "customer is
king" feeling comes only when the customer is at a physical
store. Take advantage of this fact and offer your customers
5 Star customer service that will retain in their memory for
ages. This is because, if you ask a customer, where does
has she got excellent service, the chances of her
mentioning a 5 Star hotel is quite high, because the
ambience, the service, the stay/ dining experience.
Similarly, if you can offer a great ambience, excellent
service, suitable product assortment etc, then you are able
to offer that memorable 5 Start service in your store as well.

Customer service means not just meeting and greeting the
customers but extends beyond this to include a subtle but
significant variation that makes the customer realize that
you really value them and care for them. This requires some
careful thinking.

For example, take a regular customer who has been
frequenting your store for years. Take the history of her
jewellery purchase and analyze. Try to figure out her
personality, taste and what she wants. The next time, she
comes to the store, you will be better prepared to match her
needs.

● Surprise the customer during her next visit with a gift
she will value and highlighting her loyalty and repeat
purchase.

● Some big textile retailers in Chennai have started a
free pick up and drop service for the customers
heading to their store from specific locations.
Jewellers too can emulate this example and offer free
"pick and drop" services for elite or aged customers.

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Such thoughtful and innovative changes enhance
customer service and improve customer retention.

2. Offer a superior shopping experience

It is not just the customer service that counts (that is what
you offer). It is the customer's shopping experience (what
she felt of that customer service) that binds the customer for
good with the company. What is the difference?

Customer service is the assistance offered by the Company
or store to a customer during his buying process. Customer
experience is the sum of all interactions and experiences
the customer has had with the jewellery store. Customer
service is just a part of the customer experience. Customer
experience decides the customer’s perception about the
company.

How to enhance customer experience then?

● A jewellery retailer must realize that a customer's
experience is not just based on physical shopping. In
today's world, the customer's shopping experience is
omnichannel utilizing all streams like desktops,
mobiles, internet and in-store engagement. The
jewellery retailer must cover all these touch points of
the customer's engagement thoroughly.

For instance, when a customer logs on to your website
looking for a few designs, the jewellery store can capture
this data using sales prospecting software integrated with
your CRM. Immediately, a voice call can be made to the
customer asking her what she needs and informing her
about the availability of designs, schemes etc. This can also
be followed up by an SMS and email. Such integration of
various avenues of customer interaction only serves to
enhance the customer experience.

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How to retain customers at aJewellery Showroom

● An updated inventory management also improves the
customer experience by offering the latest designs
for the customer to see.

● From the moment you welcome the customer to the
final billing and delivery, everything is part of the
customer's experience. Think of ways to offer an
extra experience to the customer at each of these
touch points. Offering a customer, something to drink
is common in the industry. Yet, it is very casually
done by the staff. How about training them to treat
customers like guests at home and truly make the
“effort” to offer the drink. You could even offer
sandwiches or the local favourite snack!

3. Removing all problem areas for the customer

Think of all the ways in which you can eliminate the "pain
points" for the customer.

● If it is “finding a problem in the parking slot", offer
valet parking.

● If it is "out-of-stock" designs, then update this
information on your website and give a tentative date
of arrival of stock. Do not disappoint customers by
showing designs which are not readily available.

● Integrate your jewellery store app or website with the
CRM at your store. Ask the customer to list her
preferences and the time when she will be at the
store. Keep the designs ready before she comes to
avoid waiting.

● Make billing and delivery swift and hassle free.

Such subtle service extras can go a long way in providing
the customer a hassle-free shopping experience.

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4. Personal care and attention

● Train your staff to know the regular customers by
name and study their persona. Be polite with the
customers and treat them with personal attention.
This is what the customer experiences when she
comes to your jewellery shop- your undivided
attention. Not only should they treat customers with
“5 Star” Service, they should also be speaking to
their colleagues in a professional manner. If they
treat their colleagues badly, then the customer
recognises the double standards at the store, apart
from feeling, that the 5 Star services for her might be
“drama” for her money.

● Train the staff to go beyond just sales talk and train
them to offer "service" by means of valuable tips,
suggestions and recommendations after observing
the customer's likes and dislikes or what kind of
jewellery will go with her lifestyle.

5. Loyalty and Referral

● Build a relationship that goes beyond business alone.
Remember their likes and dislikes, offer them say a
favourite “snack” from a distant place or a famous
eatery.

● Appreciate customer loyalty by offering rewards or
benefits like discounts.

● Convert your existing customers to your brand
advocates by offering them special discounts for
referrals.

6. Regular customer engagement

● Thank the customer for their visit with an email or
SMS immediately

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