The webinar during IIJS Virtual on ‘Virtual Transformation of Retail in Times of Pandemic’ had on board three esteemed panellists Rajesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers, Suvankar Sen, Executive Director, Senco Gold and Tawhid Abdullah, Managing Director, Jawhara Jewellery, who shared their insights with moderator Samit Bhatta, publisher, The Retail Jeweller magazine.
Here were some pointers shared by them:
• Buying habits of customers have changed — from exploring and researching online for best designs and prices to closing the deals offline.
• The online and offline coexistence is here to stay, and customers will look for omnichannel experience.
• Stay constantly connected with your customers — pandemic or no pandemic. Better narratives about the collections or products will lead to higher offline sales.
• Gold has emerged a winner as a safe investment haven. Generic global promotion is the need of the hour.
• The need to invest in a strong IT team cannot be stressed more. It is vital for inventory planning across the chain stores.
• Innovative retail programmes are a win-win for the brand and its customer.
• Reaching out to the customer and offering good service – be it video shopping, home delivery, and more build confidence and trust in the brand.
• In the UAE, there’s a considerable drop in spending on luxury items and people are tending to save more.
• Many start-ups in the UAE are adopting the digital route — it’s an effective way to stay in tune with customer’s needs.