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Big Survey

Pandemic Paves Way for Business with Less Hours

Asked what business cuts during the pandemic have hurt the least, jewelers told the INSTORE 2021 Big Survey that hours were the winner.

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Store hours
27%
Trade shows
20%
Advertising
18%
Inventory
15%
Staff/payroll
7%
Treats/hospitality/gourmet coffee
5%
Equipment & tool purchases
2%
Training and education
1%
Rent/Lease
1%
None
4%

WHICH AREAS of expenses have jewelers been able to cut down on during the pandemic without causing too many problems?

In total, 27 percent of jewelers responding to this year’s Big Survey said that cutting hours of business had the least negative impact on business.

Coming in second – and posing a challenge to that old chestnut about advertising being an investment, not an expense – 18 percent of jewelers said that cutting back on advertising affected them the least, while some 20 percent said that skipping trade shows had not had a massive negative impact.

“The pandemic lockdown changed my goals for my company,” said one particularly pleased jeweler. “We’ll be downsizing in 2022 … fewer employees, higher net income, less hours at work. Wished I’d figured this out 10 years ago.”

Other respondents concurred:

“We can operate with less staff, on fewer hours, with a lot less inventory.”

Some jewelers noted that it was useful to differentiate between “hours open” and time spent on service.

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“We’re still ‘open’ less hours than [we were] pre-pandemic, but doing everything we can to meet our customers’ needs: curbside, in town same-day delivery, after hours appointments, etc.”

The 2021 Big Survey was carried out between August and September, attracting more than 600 anonymous responses from owners of independent jewelry stores across the United States and Canada. The full results will be published in the upcoming November issue of INSTORE.

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SPONSORED VIDEO

Family Legacy, New Chapter: How Wilkerson Turns 89 Years of History Into Future Success

After 89 years of serving the Albany community, Harold Finkle Your Jeweler faced a pivotal decision. For third-generation owner Justin Finkle, the demanding hours of running a small business were taking precious time away from his young family. "After 23 years, I decided this was the time for me," Finkle explains. But closing a business with nearly nine decades of inventory and customer relationships isn't something easily managed alone. Wilkerson's comprehensive approach transformed this challenging transition into a remarkable success story. Their strategic planning handled everything from advertising and social media to inventory management and staffing — elements that would overwhelm most jewelers attempting to navigate a closing sale independently. The results speak volumes. "Wilkerson gave us three different tiers of potential goals," Finkle notes. "We've reached that third tier, that highest goal already, and we still have two weeks left of the sale." The partnership didn't just meet financial objectives—it exceeded them ahead of schedule.

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