Sales extended their surge into July with same-store sales rising by 0.8 percent on a rolling 12-month basis. That was the fourth month in a row that sales have climbed. Diamond rings have been an area of noticeable improvement with their monthly contribution as a percentage of overall sales continuing to be above the 12-month trend line, a good sign of growth in this area.
As the graph above shows, diamond ring sales in the last two months have been well ahead of the long-term trend line, sitting at just over 9 percent of total sales compared to their historical average of 8 percent.
The higher diamond ring sales have translated into much improved sales figures for July 2014 over July 2013. Overall store sales increased from an average of $90,145 to $101,901, up 13 percent on a year-on-year comparison. Meanwhile, total sales units increased from 321 to 376 items, an even greater increase of 17 percent. Despite the jump in interest in diamond rings, average sale still slipped to $246 from $267 last July.
Margins have been maintained at 46 percent but gross profit has increased from $41,564 to $46,404, an improvement of 11.6 percent on the same month in 2013.
So what should you do if you’re not seeing growth in your diamond ring sales? There are a number of steps that may help:
Take a good look at your selection. Do you have a good choice of rings? Do they cover the range of styles that are most popular or are they a left over from the last three store-wide sales? What price points are you covering? One of the easiest ways to check your price points is to run a price-point report from within your system. You can select the diamond ring department, specify the range of price points you want to look at (for example, $1,500-$1,999, $2,000-$2,499) and get a comparison between what you have sold in each price range and how much product you carry in that range. It can also tell you how old or new your product is. This report is a great way to see obvious holes at a glance. If you’ve been making sales in the $3,000-$3,500 price range but have only two rings in this price point with most of your product being cheaper than this, then it’s an indication of where you need to restock. As the old saying goes, if you don’t have it, you can’t sell it.
Run a Stock by Age report for diamond rings. If your system shows the majority of your diamond rings are over 12 months old then you have a problem. If they have sat in your store for that long then chances are they are unloved by your customers. It’s time to move them on.
Review your staff sales reports. So who sells most of the diamond rings? Chances are the old 80/20 rule is in action here with a small number of sales staff making the most diamond ring sales. Are these people getting the best opportunity to sell the most often? Or is your No. 1 diamond seller spending most of his or her day out the back fitting watch batteries? Selling diamonds is a skill that not everyone is a natural at. There is no point giving your less experienced staff a $4,000 sales opportunity to “practice” on … that makes for a very expensive lesson! Make sure your best staff members get every opportunity to make the big sales.