Give your store a spring tune-up

Spring is here and for many jewellery retailers this is a fairly slow time of the year. Most of the major buying holidays are over and the summer tourist season is still a couple months away. This is a great time to give your business a bit of a spring tune-up.

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Deep cleaning

You’ve probably been putting this off but now this the time for a deep cleaning. Every little smudge or speck of dirt can effect a customer’s impression of your store. First clean the store itself. If you have carpet, call a professional cleaner to make them like new. Check the walls, corners and edges of doorways for dirt or chipped paint. Clean or paint as needed.
Move on to your showcases, including your window displays. Take one show case at a time and pull everything out, including display stands and the bottom pad. Sweep out any dirt or dust. Get serious with the bottle of glass cleaner on both the inside and outside. You want your glass to sparkle.
While the displays are out of the case, check each one closely. Clean off smudges and fingerprints. Any displays that are frayed or show wear need to be replaced. Look at each piece of jewellery. Does it need a light buffing or a full day in the “spa” for re-polishing and cleaning? Are the tags bent and worn? If so, replace them.

 

Rearrange your displays

As long as your jewellery is out of the case, why not think of new ways to change your displays. Try grouping items by colour. Make up sets of rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces to make it easier for your sales staff to suggest add-on sales.
Any items that have been around for a year or two should go into a special case with deep discounts. Turn that dead inventory onto cash.

 

Get educated

Encourage all staff, including you, to spend 15 minutes of each day learning something. Provide books, catalogues, and trade publications that can enhance product knowledge. Find good informative websites that talk about jewellery history, gemmology or selling techniques. Fashion magazines can help give a sense of style while publications like The Robb Report or others catering to high net worth people can make your staff comfortable talking about the finer things in life. Every moment spent learning is money on your pocket.

 

Be active online

Participation in social media is important but don’t forget to check out other websites and discussion forums that focus on your local community. Participate in the discussions, not as a sales member of the business but as local residents sharing knowledge of your home town. This is a wonderful way to make new friends… and people like to shop with friends.
It is tempting to want to sit back and coast for a while but springtime is the best time to renew, refresh and re-energize your store. Don’t let the opportunity pass. Spring into action right now.

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