Headlines

High-End Online Jeweler Thinks More Can Be Done to Personalize Shopping Experience

Published

7 years ago

July 26, 2016

INSTORE Staff

E-tailer is leveraging customer data to make recommendations.

Former corporate attorney Jean Z. Poh, the founder of online jewelry retailer Swoonery, has turned to data-collection tools to personalize the online shopping experience, Luxury Daily writes. The article explains how Swoonery uses behavior profiling, machine learning and purchasing tools to recommend pieces by personal preference, “creating an intimate consumer-retailer dialogue, an intrinsic element of jewelry purchasing that has been neglected by the industry at large.”

Writer Jen King of Luxury Daily asks: “There has been a slowdown recently in luxury jewelry and watches. Do you think innovative platforms and ecommerce is the answer to these issues?”

Poh: “I absolutely do think innovation is the answer. Consumer behavior has changed. … The jewelry industry has been ignoring the data and instead maintaining the position that people do not want to buy high-end or designer jewelry online. In a world where 98 percent of affluent consumers shop online and only 5 percent of all online purchases are placed on monobrand sites, it no longer makes sense to resist. However, the key lies in being able to reimagine the personalized luxury experience online and letting the customers’ needs drive innovation.”

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Wilkerson: “They Feel Like Family”

Newton’s Jewelers in Fort Smith, Ark., was a true institution. But after being at the helm for most of his life, owner (and descendent of the original founder) Kelly Newton decided it was time to retire. He chose Wilkerson to handle the sale. “I’ve known the owners of Wilkerson for a long, long time. I felt at home with them,” he says. The final retirement sale was just a “blast” and the Wilkerson sales team made it so very simple and straightforward, says Newton. Would he recommend Wilkerson to others? Absolutely. “They’ve done incredible work,” says Newton. “They feel like family.”