Jewellery Brands Optimize Business Approach
As this Pandemic has changed the entire course of consumer behaviour and ecommerce has become more important than ever, it is very important to move our business to e-commerce as well. The lockdown in India paused our business operations for a while, but it also gave us a chance to reflect on where we are as a business missing out on the ever changing consumer habits and demands. This pandemic taught that we can take nothing for granted. Everyone should have enough reserves and a contingency fund. We must all limit the top management tasks to quality instead of quantity. We have also realized the importance of having a team and building trust in their work. If you take care of them during adverse times, they give you return during such times. It is also important to make plans for fortnight instead of a quarter in terms of sales and business and investments should focus on technology.
The changes observed in the consumer behaviour and demand patterns is observed to be that there are only genuine buyers in the market. Customers search for products online before visiting the store. For jewellery retailers it is very important to rethink how to connect with consumers. Clearly a stronger emphasis on e-commerce and digital channels is crucial, including consideration of the role of direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce channels. This means that it is very important to have a relevant social media approach as well as e-commerce presence so that customers can include us in the online research.It has become important to boost investments in online acquisition by reallocating funds for offline media to digital channels. With more investment in online marketing, we are adapting strategies to account for shifts in consumer behaviour. These adaptations include paying closer attention to paid search (for example, looking at not just keyword performance but also consumer intent) and improving the “shoppability” of social media platforms by adding swipe up links in stories that can direct customers to the ecommerce website.
To adapt to new customer behaviors and preferences, we as jewellery retailers also need to explore and evaluate omni channel offerings and find opportunities to innovate and fill gaps. Any additions should be clearly aligned with emerging customer needs and integrated with existing channels to support a consistent experience. To evolve the physical store’s role as a
core component of the omnichannel journey is also an important aspect. Many retailers had been using their stores to educate consumers on product offerings, reinforce their brand’s positioning, and support e-commerce sales. We also try to give our online customers one on one chat experience with our sales executive on whatsapp for any of the purchasing enquiries. Despite the increase in online demand, the in-store experience is of much importance when it comes to a jewellery buying experience. While e-commerce will be a way, it will not take away the importance of an in-store experience. Jewellery is a high involvement category and touch and feel is important to our customers. Moreover it’s about emotions and human involvement and purchasing is based on strong relationships, bonds and trust that customers have with our brand. Our showroom is at the core of a jewellery buying process. To enhance safety and comfortable in-store shopping experience, jewellery stores would be required to take all the measures for the safety and security of buyers as well as of the staff, right from something as basic as maintaining a social distance of 3.5 ft between customers and staff to encouraging billing & payments through online and NEFT to avoid physical contact. Therefore it is very important for us to make sure safety and hygiene is a priority when dealing with customers in our store.
Some other new approaches that we are following is that we have upgraded our ERP system and a lot of other things that can be done correctly through machines rather than a person. We are reducing the dependence on people as much as possible.
Covid-19 was and still is an unforeseen and unprecedented situation that has turned the world upside down. And like every major disruption, it is pushing the industry’s boundaries of resilience and we as a business have tried our best to cope up with this crisis. We hope that this Pandemic gets under control soon and we all go back to the new normal again.
The author is Rohan Sharma, CEO & MD, RK Jewellers
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