Tap the bridal market
around Valentine’s Day.
While Valentine’s Day is
one of the top events
for most jewelers, the
average sale tends to
be lower than Christmas. What can
build your Valentine’s Day volume,
however, is bridal.
Many people aren’t aware that
February is the No. 2 engagement
month, behind December.
December has both family gatherings
(where many couples like to
announce their engagement) and
New Year’s Eve (a popular time to
get engaged).
But no one can deny the
romance of getting engaged on
Valentine’s Day! When I see jewelry
advertisements for Valentine’s Day I see plenty of traditional
heart-shaped pendants and earrings.
What I don’t see is bridal,
which is perplexing. If you put as
much effort and money into bridal
as you do your other products; you
will see a higher average sale and
higher revenues.
HERE’S HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR BRIDAL BUSINESS FOR V-DAY:
MARKETING:
Alternate your marketing
between bridal and fashion jewelry
beginning in January.
Offer a “bridal bag” with wedding
band certificate, jewelry
cleaner, coupons from local bridal
vendors, and a free gift certificate
to get the bride in your store.
Offer a free wedding planning
book or proposal stories book.
DISPALY:
Put various framed images of a
man proposing to a woman in your
bridal cases. (See this month’s Prop
Talk column on page 44.)
Romantic touches such as red
silk rose petals strewn around are
evocative and different from the
usual heart-shaped theme items.
Expand your bridal cases — with
imaginative display you won’t need
additional product.
MERCHANDISING:
Assess your current bridal
offerings: Are your assortments
compelling? Do you have the popular
looks covered? Do you have
enough matching ladies wedding
bands? Are you featuring enough
of the alternative metal gents
bands? Are you stocking some
platinum for the discerning client?
Do you have enough petite bridal
for entry price points?
If your bridal assortment is
lacking, now is the time to bring
in fresh product. With some long
vendor lead times — you may need
to place your orders in December,
so don’t delay!
Make sure that all your fast selling
bridal has been reordered and
is in your cases by Feb. 1.
TRAINING:
Dedicate a training session, or
a series of training sessions for
your staff to just selling bridal and
diamonds. Even the most seasoned
sales associate needs to brush up
on his skills.
The bridal client can be him
shopping alone, them shopping as
a couple, or her shopping alone or
with friends — each requires a different
approach.
People are buying engagement
rings in February — the question
is will they be buying them from
you? You have the potential to capitalize
on this key segment. There
is no better product group to build
your average sale and increase
your sales. Some of the best things
about bridal are that you are cultivating
a new client, they are both
potential clients, and they are at
the beginning of their buying cycle.
There is no question that bridal is
the foundation of a healthy, growing
jewelry store. Valentine’s Day
is the perfect opportunity to kickstart
your bridal sales.
Sally Furrer is a merchandising consultant with 20-plus years of jewelry industry experience. E-mail her at sallyfurrer@gmail.com, or visit www.sallyfurrerconsulting.com.
This story is from the December 2011 edition of INSTORE