| Using alcohol to disinfect areas |
|
56%
|
| Wearing a mask |
|
52%
|
| Declining to shake hands |
|
33%
|
| Avoiding trade shows |
|
32%
|
| Curbside pickup |
|
20%
|
| Appointment only |
|
10%
|
| Video sales |
|
6%
|
| We never did any of these |
|
6%
|
| We’re totally back to normal |
|
2%
|
| Other |
|
6%
|
*“Others” included insisting on masks, plexiglass barriers, shorter hours, and limiting foot traffic.
SOME 57 PERCENT of jewelers said they continue to disinfect surfaces in their stores with alcohol while just over 52 percent said they’re still wearing masks.
A number of respondents (32 percent) said they were still not shaking hands and nearly 32 percent said they were avoiding trade shows and other industry-related events.
“We used an appointment calendar initially to help spread out clients and maintain social distance by avoiding crowding,” said one jeweler who found there were advantages to the pandemic measure: “We’ve found it’s very effective to manage the day’s business even though we no longer need to observe a maximum occupancy.”
Comments by jewelers for the Big Survey revealed that some were all about following practices that customers were comfortable with, while others were returning to pre-pandemic business practices.
“We used some of these measures — masks, sanitizer and curbside [pickups] — for a while but we’re back to business as usual,” said one jeweler.
The 2021 Big Survey was carried out between August and September, attracting almost 700 anonymous responses from owners and managers of independent jewelry stores across the United States and Canada. The full results will be published in the upcoming November issue of INSTORE.
Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson
When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren.
For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish.
"Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful."
The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing."
Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."
