This might not be your first rodeo navigating the holiday season sales, but you’d be surprised to learn that even some of the more experienced jewelers still commit basic mistakes when preparing for the months of November and December. We couldn’t, therefore, leave this topic unaddressed.
However, we prefer not to call them “mistakes” but “omissions”…or “slip-ups” if you may. And we have a whole list for you! How many of these are you doing right?
1. Properly phrased calls-to-action (CTA)
It’s the holidays! “Shop now” or “view more” are not going to cut it; the competition is fierce and you can bet they’re bringing their A game. So you have to do the same. As a jeweler, you have a few advantages though. Firstly, about 24% of shoppers buy jewelry as gifts and around 27% would like to receive jewelry as a gift. That means, it’s going to take a lot less convincing on your part and simple CTAs will do the trick just fine.
Secondly, you also have tons of categories! So instead of directing customers to “buy here,” you could say “Shop for Women” or “Shop by Gems.” The more specific you can get, the easier you’ll make it for your client to find what he/she wants and the higher the chances they’ll end up buying from you.
2. Incentives
Keep in mind your clients are spending lots of time planning for other parts of the holidays as well, all of which requires perhaps even more decisions. So help them decide by offering incentives. These may include discounts and coupons, bundles, free add-on’s, free shipping, and rewards (points). The simple answer to “how to sell jewelry online” is “keep it simple.” 😉
Most customers turn into deal-seekers around this time of the year, buying gifts for both themselves and for others. In fact, a new trend has emerged in the US called “wegifting,” where shoppers look for gifts that would benefit both the giver and the receiver. So, not only will incentives help with their selection process but they will also encourage them to buy more.
3. Convenience
While holiday shopping is a fun pastime for some, for many it is simply an obligation. So make it as quick and painless as possible for everyone. Some ideas include:
- Auto-loading discounts and coupons
- Direct links to specific products in newsletters and promotional emails
- Correct email timing so it doesn’t get missed (and increased frequency as well)
- Direct mail coupons for the boomers generation
- Mobile-optimized website or listing
- Chatbots or live chat options (and, of course, top-notch Ux/Ui is a given)
- Demi-fine jewelry – affordable yet chic (e.g. plated gold, vermeil, gold-filled, less than 14 karats, etc.)
4. Revise and adjust target market
The holiday season is a game-changer, since almost everyone is shopping during this time. So you no longer need to focus on your original target market. In fact, loyalty is the first factor to go out the window. Instead, you should address everyone including indirect audiences, as well. These include gift buyers (buying for others, self-gifters, and the wegifters from earlier) but also those who are not thinking about the holidays at all. A few of their reasons can include wardrobe changes, items they couldn’t afford during the pandemic, or simply bulk essentials because they are cheaper.
For jewelry in particular, a few events may include birthdays, engagements, weddings, and anniversaries. Lots of these events had to be postponed for this year, so there is a good chance buyers might overcompensate by spending more. Capitalizing on these trends can place you ten steps ahead of your competition and boost your profits drastically.
5. Address abandoned carts
Let’s make up our own eCommerce law – no shopper left behind. This law refers to following up with shoppers who have placed items in their carts but never went through with the purchase. We know it is not a new strategy, but it’s a highly overlooked one.
Cart abandonment rates vary across online retailers, but the rates are extremely high – somewhere between 60% and 85%. You can handle this in 2 ways, proactively and reactively. We suggest you have a little bit of both strategies.
Preventing cart abandonment involves:
- Exit-intent pop-ups
- Floating shopping cart icon while scrolling (or fixed at the bottom of the page)
- Make number of items in cart pop (e.g. through change in size or color)
If preventative measures fail, then send email or text message reminders to your prospects and perhaps incentivize them further to complete their purchases.
Some natural restrictions apply. If you sell jewelry on Amazon, you don’t have the privilege of contacting potential buyers who haven’t completed the purchase, but if you sell jewelry on Etsy, they even have a special tool to re-engage with the buyers in such cases.
To allow jewelers be in time with the preparations, we prepared the jewelry-specific Sales Events Calendar, which summarizes the best opportunities for online sales. and goes far beyond the Nov-Dec period.
6. Plan early
The holiday season needs its own properly planned and executed campaign. This means advertising promotions early, creating urgency, and strategizing internally and externally. Firstly, make sure you’ve identified all the touchpoints where your customers are likely to learn about your offers, including offline events, and that you have enough inventory. Running out of stock is the last thing you want during the holiday season.
Secondly, you’ll need to finesse your offers, test different variations of them out, warm up your audience before the actual sale season, optimize internal workflows, have contingency plans for all possible mishaps, and more. Some of the more common issues will involve logistics and customer support. So take a closer look at those areas. And of course, the right jewelry software will come in handy.
7. Paid advertising
This one needs to come alongside organic marketing. Both of them are just as important. You want to improve your ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs) but you also don’t want to fully depend on their algorithms. It really doesn’t matter if you sell jewelry on eBay, Walmart, Amazon, or on your website – the PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns have to be a part of the game.
Design a number of target market segments in front of which you’d like your ads to show up, and make sure you customize your visuals and content to them. You could use your social media following to help you break those down, or your website analytics. This will ensure your audience is more receptive to your message and, therefore, more likely to buy from you.
So how many from the Holiday Season Marketing Mistakes, are you doing well? If you’re lacking in some areas, it’s still not too late to optimize your operations with the proper software for jewelry business, and make the most out of the remainder of this season. With so many shoppers out there, we’re certain your jackpot is just around the corner.
