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Big Survey

Many Jewelers Are Failing to Do This … and It Could Cost Them Big Time

The Big Survey asked about display practices.

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PROPS, YES. New items highlighted, no.

It was a mixed bag when we asked America’s jewelers about their display practices.

Among the results:

  • Only 33 percent display prices prominently.
  • 81 percent use props in their cases
  • Only 19 percent have a new items case.
  • Only 26 percent know their case sales per linear foot.

Display expert Larry Johnson said the results show how many retail jewelers do not appreciate the power of visual merchandising in their stores.

“The greatest evidence of that conclusion is that 81 percent of these surveyed do not feature new arrivals in their cases,” he said. “After 25 years of being an exhibitor at JCK Vegas and many IJO/RJO shows, I have heard the ‘What’s new?’ question asked of me many times more than I can count. Why would those retailers think their customer do not want answers to the same question when they ask in their store?”

Johnson says taking a professional and strategic approach to display, one that includes an understanding of human behavior and basic display principles, is one of the best ways to improve sales. “Every successful retailer in America makes visual merchandising a critical part of their focus. When our industry ignores this area, we make our jobs harder than they have to be and put our long-term continued success in greater jeopardy.”

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Johnson said it was time retailers learned to stop thinking like jewelers or retailers and started seeing their presentation from their customers’ perspectives. Make your store easy to shop. Display your merchandise to enhance, not diminish, its apparent value.

“My retail jeweler friends lament, How can people buy the crap that the chain jewelry stores at the mall are selling and at those high prices?’ The answer? Those mall stores ARE doing all these things asked in this survey. These strategies work and we either get on board with them or give our competitors a free shot at our customers.”

Over the years, INSTORE has won 80 international journalism awards for its publication and website. Contact INSTORE's editors at editor@instoremag.com.

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Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”

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