Last week I hear Duchess Meghan Markle is wearing gold, and I find myself clinging to the hope that gold is making a resurgence. I am hanging onto this, and it’s sad. Frankly our favorite precious metal has been going through some turmoil these days making me a nervous wreck. Fluctuating gold price and the decline in gold jewelry popularity is taking it’s toll, we are seeing more and more silver and platinum and the lesser metals coming into the refinery.
If you are reading this and you’re a jeweler – don’t log off just yet.
The truth is jewelry sales are UP. Way up. You don’t believe it do you? You say people don’t care about jewelry like they used to. You see retail jewelry stores closing and you get the feeling this is because brick and mortar is a thing of the past and online is where all of the sales are.
The fact of the matter is the jewelry industry has been spread too thin. Too many retailers, a jewelry store popping up on every corner, sometimes 5 in the same mall. I just read an article that details stores ARE closing but the market is growing. 91% of sales occur in brick and mortar but the fact is there are just too many stores. In the refining industry we are coming across a lot of retail jewelers sending in carpet and benchsweeps and the last of the overstocks because they are closing down. While we appreciate the business, it gets depressing.
There is hope folks – but a couple of things all retailers should know.
- All jewelry sales start online- so make sure you have a great website!
- Make sure you’re on social media.
- All my research has shown, customer service is the reason why small jewelers lose business. Being able to customize jewelry is crucial to a jeweler’s success.
Want to learn more – see the article “Snapshots of the US Jewelry Industry by Harold Dupy, FGA. Great article in the MJSA Journal this month and check out the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends Q1.
Keep your chin up and happy retailing!
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