Implement a “top 12” gift idea program (left); put the pieces you want most to sell at the back of the platform (right).
MY BROTHER AND I were lucky. We grew up on Air Force bases in foreign countries where my dad served and gave our family a squarely middle-class upbringing. This included our parents asking us what we wanted each December for Christmas. If our requests were reasonable, affordable within the budget and specific enough, we often saw it appear on the 25th.
In my practice, helping retail jewelers increase their sales through better merchandising, I find many jewelers are too broadly focused in their wishes for the holidays, which delivers a result that leaves them disappointed. In this article, I want to help you identify your store’s specific goals for this upcoming holiday season and get them implemented to produce the results you want.
1. Be specific in your goals. Of course, you want to sell more — but how much more and of what? Analyze your store reports from November-December last year and see what merchandise sold well, at what average price. If you want to see a 20% increase in sales this year, feature pieces that sell for 20% more.
2. Put those pieces you want most to sell in the back center of your display. Research shows that is where shoppers look first.
3. Add small signs with emotional adjectives on those pieces to draw extra attention to them. Put in a dry-erase board with your new arrivals.
4. Collect 12 great gift ideas from around your store that cover the popular merchandise categories for that customer (usually a man) who needs a holiday gift but doesn’t have a clue what to buy. Hint: Be sure the pair of diamond studs you feature as one of the 12 ideas is at a price point 20% higher than your average diamond stud sale last year!
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5. Put your old inventory in a clearance case at a special discounted price. If a piece has not sold in 12 months, it is officially a dog. Don’t make your customer look through dozens of pieces that no one has bought in over a year to find piece they like. If you do not do this, odds are good you will see that piece for 12 more months.
6. Decorate your store for the holidays and encourage your staff to adopt a festive attitude. Shoppers want to deal with happy people. Don’t put shiny metallic foil holiday décor pieces inside the case. It will outshine your gold merchandise and you’ll be seeing specks of leftover glitter for the next 12 months.
Be specific in your holiday plan, and hopefully you’ll get the result you want. (Although I never did get that red Corvette! Maybe this year.)
