Retailers and designers in the West are bringing the sparkle back to their business by relying on technology to streamline inventory management, personalise client management, and accelerate sell-through.
Technology and innovation present jewellery retailers with significant opportunities to redefine product management, customer engagement and business growth. With retailers aiming to refine their business strategies, many have begun to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology for a competitive edge. It enables retailers to analyse vast data, generate predictive insights, track customer behaviour by monitoring frequently viewed, carted and purchased jewellery and strive for more accurate sales forecasts.
However, some retailers embrace third party e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, seems promising, as it integrates AI into operations through its proprietary suite, Shopify Magic. One key feature is an automated tool that assists jewellery retailers in generating product descriptions, streamlining content creation for online storefronts.
Despite the benefits of automation, small and new independent retailers face challenges in managing inventory and back-office tasks with limited resources at their disposal. Another sticking point is that businesses have little control over the features offered by third-party e-commerce platforms, or how these operate within their websites, often restricting operational flexibility. Here’s what some of them have to say:
Jade Jenkins, Director of E-commerce & Communications, Marissa Collections
At Marissa Collections, Jade Jenkins and her team rely heavily on data analytics to optimise business strategies. The insights help identify top-performing brands and products, ensuring investment in the right inventory. Segmenting marketing efforts through Klaviyo’s analytics to target consumers with personalised email campaigns, and optimising product placement and digital promotions based on sales trends and customer preferences, have led to strong growth.
“Our most impactful technological advancements include automated reporting to support our replenishment program and enhanced client data insights. Additionally, digital improvements from Shopify, AI-driven automation, and affiliate marketing tools have significantly contributed to our business growth. We have also maximised our point-of-sale (POS) system’s capabilities, ensuring peak efficiency,” Jade explains.
The automated reporting supports restocking by tracking stock levels and sales in real time and flagging when products need replenishment. Their POS integrates with multiple systems to streamline operations. They utilise OneShop as their CRM to enhance client engagement and Klaviyo for email marketing automation, creating a seamless experience across in-store and online touchpoints.
Platforms such as JOOR and NuOrder support product sourcing, while PowerBI plays a crucial role in analysing inventory and identifying replenishment opportunities. “PowerBI has been instrumental in enhancing our vendor management, providing deeper visibility into purchasing trends and enabling data-driven forecasting decisions,” she adds. Last year, they implemented an automated replenishment program using advanced reporting solutions to maintain optimal stock levels.
Hilary Magner, Squash Blossom Vail
Three years ago, Squash Blossom’s owner, Hilary Magner, transitioned from an outdated Keystroke POS system to Lightspeed, which integrates with Shopify for e-commerce, and separately uses ClientBook as her CRM. ClientBook, which costs $400 per month and integrates directly with Lightspeed, is not part of her Lightspeed subscription. Magner values its ability to generate secure payment links that customers can click to complete transactions remotely.
“I wouldn’t say we have the best solution, but it works for us. The advantage of Lightspeed over Keystroke is its integration capabilities,” she says. Lightspeed provides integrated inventory management and purchase order functionality, allowing her to create and manage POS to track incoming inventory.
“Since we do a mixture of consignment and purchased inventory, with constantly changing assortments, the ability for there to be a serial number assigned to each individual piece is very helpful to us for tracking inventory,” Hilary explains. With up to 500 new pieces arriving monthly, the system’s ability to import purchase order data saves significant manual effort.
Lightspeed’s analytics add-on simplifies inventory management, and the system connects with NuOrder to prompt automatic reorders when stock runs low.
Megan Kothari, Founder, Aaryah
New York-based Aaryah’s founder Megan Kothari employs Shopify POS for both online and showroom sales. “The system integrates with our CRM, allowing a more personalized customer experience.”
Shopify’s instalment payment options, international currency settings, and split payments have streamlined checkout for US-based customers and international buyers. Megan uses analytics tools to track customer behaviour and sales trends. In 2023, increased demand for a specific diamond cut prompted her to expand inventory and spotlight the cut across social media. “We leverage data analytics tools to track customer behaviour and sales trends, enabling data-driven decisions for product development and marketing strategies.”
Separately, the designer uses Instagram and Facebook ads to target customers searching for unique engagement rings, alongside organic TikTok content optimised with key search terms. “This approach helped reach customers actively searching for those products,” says Megan.
Rosena Sammi, Founder, The Jewelry Edit
The Jewelry Edit relies on Shopify to sync inventory in real time across locations. Rosena values its ability to store purchase history, supporting the brand’s loyalty program and email marketing by tracking customer data. “Effective data use is integral to our business. It helps analyse best-selling products, manage stock replenishment, and understand our clients’ needs,” she says.
Rosena also integrates various Shopify apps to enhance functionality, including tools that track customer wish lists. She sources designers through JOOR and Faire to manage reorders, track stock availability, production timelines, and new SKUs.
Ryan Ryan, Owner, Ryan Ryan Fine Jewelry & Gift Bar
Ryan Ryan uses Lightspeed X-Series POS, which integrates inventory tracking and purchase order management. The system allows him to create and manage purchase orders while automatically importing inventory data.
“With the high turnaround of assortments, Lightspeed’s ability to import the information from each purchase order into the system saves us 100’s of hours of manual effort. This is a huge advantage as we receive up to 500 new pieces on a monthly basis,” Ryan says. Because he manages both consignment and purchased inventory, assigning serial numbers to each piece ensures accurate tracking. The fully cloud-based system allows efficient operations across devices, while CRM integration enhances client communication.
Jo Latham, Jo Latham Boutique
Retailer Joanna Latham notes that technology now underpins both sourcing and sales within her business. Product discovery still begins at key industry gatherings, with the Couture Show in Las Vegas serving as her primary buying event, alongside smaller shows such as Centurion Jewelry Show and regular vendor meetings. During the pandemic, however, digital tools reshaped this process. Many suppliers presented collections via virtual appointments, allowing her team to review new designs through Zoom sessions that offered what she describes as a “seamless experience for sourcing new designers and collections.”
With boutiques in two locations in Texas – Fort Worth and Amarillo, Joanna relies on the e-commerce platform Shopify, which she describes as “an incredibly user-friendly, all-in-one e-commerce system for both in-store and online sales.” Integrated with the marketing platform Klaviyo, the system enables customer segmentation and direct engagement through email and push notifications. The connection between the two platforms, shares Joanna, allows the business to “create a seamless customer experience that integrates both in-store and online sales,” while also linking retail activity with marketing outreach. Shopify’s data insights are leveraged to monitor their top selling items, notes Joanna, while Klaviyo analytics help them delve into “the types of campaigns and content that resonate most strongly with our customers.” Additionally, Shopify’s built-in fraud detection ensures the online transactions are protected.
Retailers across the jewellery industry are adopting technology to strengthen inventory control, customer engagement, and operational efficiency. Integrated POS systems, AI-driven automation, CRM tools, and data analytics are enabling businesses to manage complex assortments while delivering more personalised, omnichannel shopping experiences.