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EditorsMay 24, 2012
Ship to store
Could this be the panacea for multi-channel retailing that fine jewelry has been seeking? Over the past decade, we've all watched as online retailing has mushroomed around us. But our product, even for mega-powerful, uber-traffic retailers like Amazon, Walmart and...
Could this be the panacea for multi-channel retailing that fine jewelry has been seeking?
While jewelry consumers have proven keen on educating themselves pre-purchase on the Web, they're still much less willing to buy there, speaking on a macro-level. Factors involved include the emotial quotient of buying jewelry, the relative rarity of buying it vis-a-vis other consumer goods, size of ticket, and fashion/style concerns.
Across all consumer categories, however, we've seen strength flow to companies that can optimize the consumer experience across the online and physical store channels. Most recently, the race has gone to companies that provide their "guests" an accessible and highly functional mobile shopping option.
While not new, "ship to store" has become an integral component of mobile shopping. That makes sense, since it combines the end-user advantages of both channels. Shoppers avoid the hassle of schlepping to and through the physical store, employing the convenience of click-through browsing on their device of choice. Yet they retain a face-to-face fallback at the retailer's physical location in case products fall short of expectations.
Sound sensible for fine jewelry? You bet. And while this opens all sorts of possibilities for big companies like chain jeweler Zale, whose CEO called the tactic out in a recent earnings call , it also provides opportunities for independents. Suppliers are increasingly able to provide jewelers site-embedded tools and similar options for presenting jewelry to consumers.
And while there are certainly times you want your customers shopping physically in your store, there are many who would prefer doing the legwork online and visiting only when their chosen jewelry arrives. This can take the headache out of the shopping process, especially for men. And it's hard to argue that easier shopping won't mean increased sales.
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