{"id":15413,"date":"2022-05-19T12:53:13","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T07:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gjepc.org\/solitaire\/?p=15413"},"modified":"2022-05-19T19:32:13","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T14:02:13","slug":"the-jewellery-industry-pushes-omni-channel-as-brick-and-mortar-goes-digital-and-e-commerce-goes-physical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gjepc.org\/solitaire\/the-jewellery-industry-pushes-omni-channel-as-brick-and-mortar-goes-digital-and-e-commerce-goes-physical\/","title":{"rendered":"The Jewellery Industry Pushes Omni-channel as Brick-and-Mortar Goes Digital and E-commerce Goes Physical"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During an analyst call earlier this year, North American jewellery-conglomerate, Signet Jewelers, said that 80% of the company’s sales take place inside its 2,800+ physical stores, however 65% of customers visit at least one of the company\u2019s \u201cdigital sites\u201d during their shopping journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers researching online and then buying in-store, is an example of what the downstream refers to \u201comni-channel\u201d retail, essentially an integration of the digital and physical shopping experience. Signet management has described this approach as a way to \u201cstay close to our customers (at all times),\u201d which became especially relevant during the pandemic-related lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the company\u2019s current fiscal year, which ends January 2023, Signet said it plans to spend some $250 million (of the $900 million in operating income it generated last year) on enhancing its \u201cdata driven\u201d omni-channel strategies \u2013 including augmented virtual customer service systems and other digital as well as in person \u201cinnovative and personalised experience\u201d initiatives for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u00a9 Signet Jewelers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just Signet, most of the major jewellers around the world are embracing similar strategies. Last year, China\u2019s Chow Tai Fook told Paul Zimnisky via a direct correspondence: \u201cthe outbreak of Covid-19 speeded up our omni-channel development\u2026digital empowerment will be our key focus in coming years, no matter what, we shall continue to invest in both e-commerce and O2O,\u201d i.e. online-to-offline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High-end commercial real-estate developer, Westfield, recently provided a glimpse of how omni-channel strategies could drive retail strategies in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 2021 client report titled \u201cHow We Shop the Next Decade,\u201d Westfield predicted that by 2025 their \u201cretailers will allocate more square footage to experience than product,\u201d as \u2018buying online picking up in store\u2019 becomes more popular \u2013 referring to the concept as \u201cupside-down retail.\u201d The trend can be seen as a way to combine the \u201cexperience economy\u201d with traditional retail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, LED wall and virtual production technology can be used to create engaging \u201cretail theatre\u201d within stores. Further, digital personalisation tools within stores can allow customers to virtually try, test and customise merchandise while immersing with the brand through visuals and sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Westfield report concludes: \u201cshoppers want to escape from the day-to-day when they shop, which is why they get particularly excited about the idea of escapist experiences\u201d \u2013 retailers need to embrace this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fittingly, as traditional brick-and-mortars digitally integrate, e-commerce companies are integrating via physical-store expansion. In the jewellery industry in particular, leading online diamond retailers are doing just this. Both Blue Nile and James Allen have opened showrooms in recent years. Blue Nile is targeting up to 100 brick-and-mortar \u201cwebrooms\u201d by mid-decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late 2018, James Allen opened a concept store in Washington D.C., employing many of the in-store technologies mentioned above. Subsequently, James Allen parent, Signet, has opened multiple James Allen\/Jared combination stores \u2013 the latter banner being Signet\u2019s high-end bridal-focused destination. The stores include a coffee bar in a \u201cmodern, warm, and relaxed\u201d environment, in which sales associates and customers interact side-by-side \u2013 similar to the Apple Store set-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just this month, Brilliant Earth, the US-based \u201cdigitally native\u201d online diamond retailer that went public last year, said it continues to successfully open physical showrooms, primary in key US regions, bringing the company\u2019s total \u201cstore-count\u201d to 18 as of early May. During an analyst call, management noted that the showrooms have \u201coutperformed initial expectations,\u201d leading to a higher customer repeat purchase rate than online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Zimnisky, CFA is an independent diamond industry analyst and consultant based in the New York metro area. For regular in-depth analysis of the diamond industry please consider subscribing to his State of the Diamond Market<\/a>, a leading monthly industry report; an index of previous editions can be found here<\/a>. Also, listen to the Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics Podcast<\/a> on iTunes or Spotify. Paul is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business with a B.S. in finance and he is a CFA charterholder. He can be reached at paul@paulzimnisky.com<\/a> and followed on Twitter @paulzimnisky<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disclosure: At the time of writing Paul Zimnisky held a long position in Lucara Diamond Corp, Star Diamond Corp, North Arrow Minerals Inc, Brilliant Earth Group and Barrick Gold Corp. Please read full disclosure at www.paulzimnisky.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During an analyst call earlier this year, North American jewellery-conglomerate, Signet Jewelers, said that 80% of the company’s sales take place inside its 2,800+ physical stores, however 65% of customers visit at least one of the company\u2019s \u201cdigital sites\u201d during their shopping journey. Customers researching online and then buying in-store, is an example of what…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115,114,107,79],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-15413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brand-innovation","category-marketing","category-retail","category-viewpoint"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Jewellery Industry Pushes Omni-channel as Brick-and-Mortar Goes Digital and E-commerce Goes Physical - Solitaire magazine is a International jewellery magazine - India\u2019s leading B2B gem and jewellery magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gjepc.org\/solitaire\/the-jewellery-industry-pushes-omni-channel-as-brick-and-mortar-goes-digital-and-e-commerce-goes-physical\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Jewellery Industry Pushes Omni-channel as Brick-and-Mortar Goes Digital and E-commerce Goes Physical - Solitaire magazine is a International jewellery magazine - India\u2019s leading B2B gem and jewellery magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During an analyst call earlier this year, North American jewellery-conglomerate, Signet Jewelers, said that 80% of the company’s sales take place inside its 2,800+ physical stores, however 65% of customers visit at least one of the company\u2019s \u201cdigital sites\u201d during their shopping journey. 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