Here’s What Jewelers Are Doing Differently To Boost Traffic This Christmas

Question: Will you do anything different to boost traffic this holiday season?

• We’ve started using influencers on Instagram. So far it seems to be working! — Dianna Rae High, Dianna Rae Jewelry, Lafayette, LA
• More advertising during football games and holiday-related shows. Emphasizing shopping local and the emotional pull of jewelry. Directing people to (and enhancing the experience of) our online store. — Jennifer Hornik Johnson, Miller’s Jewelry, Bozeman, MT
• We will be focusing more on Cyber Monday and using Black Friday to purge old inventory to make room on the floor for our incoming holiday inventory. We also will be utilizing QR codes in our windows to help draw window shoppers outside of business hours to our online store. — Rebecca Larson, Barry Peterson Jewelers, Ketchum, ID
• We’re going crazy on social media. Trying some different merchandising techniques like incorporating sale items into the display to keep things from looking too “garage sale-y,” but offering price points customers can’t pass up (hopefully) to move aged inventory. — Elena Davis, Towne Square Jewelers, Charleston, IL
• I actually bought ads in local magazines. Haven’t done that in a couple of years. — Jo Goralski, The Jewelry Mechanic, Oconomowoc, WI
• We will be sending coupons out ahead of time to our best customers. A first for us. — Loann Stokes, Stokes Jewelry, Stillwater, MN
• Staying open despite a pandemic. (I’m serious.) We’re not going to do special events in November/December for the first time in the history of our company. I’m curious to see how this pans out. — Andrea Riso, Talisman Collection, El Dorado Hills, CA
• I’m on track to be ahead of the game for the first time this year. I usually procrastinate in getting my sales ideas put together, and I end up flinging “whatever” out into Facebookland. This year, I’ve already got most of my social ads and posts ready to go. The campaign will be much more cohesive and consistent this year. Looking forward to good results! — Janne Etz, Contemporary Concepts, Cocoa, FL
• We’re doing a Black Friday “Sleep In Sale” where we open at 12 to the public on Black Friday and are doing some awesome door-buster deals. Our associates will be using the 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. time to set up exclusive appointments for our best clients. We also have a brochure that we’re sending digitally with our Black Friday weekend deals, and then the second half feature our holiday promotions. It will also be sent direct mail to a large demographic in the geographic area, as well as our mailing list. — Lucy Conklin, Toner Jewelers, Overland Park, KS
• For the first time, we are going to reward our customers with a $100 credit toward anything in store. We do value pricing, so we’ve never done this before, but given COVID-19, we think it’s nice to help our best customers out a little bit and also remind them that we are still here and going strong! — Becky Bettencourt, Blue River Diamonds, Peabody, MA
• Advertising like crazy. We always advertise, but this year we are stepping it up, trying radio for the first time, stepping up our social media paid ads as well as pay-per-click on Google. The longer we are in business, the harder things are. As I tell my children, if you want something, go get it. That is our philosophy with business. — Michael Kanoff, Michael’s Jewelers, Yardley, PA
• Instead of our blowout holiday party, we sent out mailers giving customers the 25 percent discount we usually give them at the event. Hopefully, by sending it early November and having it valid until Christmas Eve, we can spread the love over the whole holiday season and capture early shoppers, instead of one evening! — Karen Edney, Midwest Jewelers & Estate Buyers, Zionsville, IN
• My focus will be 100 percent on my VIPs. Mailing a small package of high-gloss, professionally photographed items starting at $25,000 and up. I will also create a mass email to all of my clients with items priced from $1,500 – $5,000 and personal emails to my VIPs. I will also reach out personally via text messages to my VIPs. — Jeremy Auslander, Roxbury Jewelry, Los Angeles, CA