Luxury jewellers are finding that making the transition to online retail isn’t as simple as it looks. For years, high-end fashion retailers have accustomed consumers to an immersive luxury retail experience with quiet showrooms, dedicated specialists and expertly-curated glass cases filled with treasure.
Now, as consumers increasingly turn to the internet to browse and purchase luxury wares, premium jewellers are in many cases grappling with how to translate that emotive retail experience online.
Lessons From Unexpected Places
Looking at the most interesting premium digital innovations in retail today requires looking outside of traditional retail for inspiration. Premium digital engagement strategies have drawn unexpected lessons from iGaming, where operators discovered that customers when searching for a live casino in the UK respond most strongly to real-time human interaction and curated personalisation — insights that luxury jewellers are now applying to their own online clienteling models.
For Hatton Garden jewellery designers and shoppers alike, the digital revolution means live video consultations, real-time gem selection and one-to-one messenger chat with knowledgeable Jewelers to make sure every purchase is just right.
New data released by the Office for National Statistics from the ONS Social Accounting Statements supports previous findings that the majority of adults in the UK research online before buying, with 63% of adults aged 16–74 years found to have looked at goods and services online before purchasing in the three months studied.
This makes the digital experience of potential customers critical to converting sales at the moment a purchasing decision is being made, with high-end, premium content forming the backbone of successful online jeweller sites.
Trust and Authenticity Online
Jewellery is a product where trust is paramount and nowhere is this more apparent than with the role of the London Assay Office and hallmarking standards. Many online retailers are now choosing to display the assay marks more clearly than in traditional retail methods, making them easily accessible to Internet shoppers. Providing a link to the certification record and clearly explaining the criteria used for each grade reduces online shoppers’ uncertainty.
The British Jewellers Association has told members to treat their digital content as part of their wider retail offer and to ensure that information such as product details, diamond grading and return policies online are of the same standard as in-store. It is the online equivalent of a jeweller’s handshake.
Converting Engagement Into Loyalty
Consumer behaviour suggests that high-value discretionary purchases may now increasingly be conducted online, with consumers willing to buy premium items such as formal outfits or jewellery online for the first time. Online product images with high level of detail, 360 degree views and virtual try on technology may have facilitated this change in consumer behaviour that is driven by increased consumer confidence and also retailer investment online.
When creating the online offering of their jewellery stores, retailers should use the higher quality standards for premium jewellery set out by organisations such as the National Association of Jewellers in a way that reinforces rather than erodes perceived value. The jewellers who do the best with their digital offering are those who treat every product page and every customer interaction with their online site as opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise.
A New Standard for Premium Digital Retail
Some research suggests that the physical and digital experience of luxury jewellery retail may become increasingly integrated. As consumers increasingly seek more human interaction, increased transparency around jewellery authentication and a more personalised online experience, the retailers that succeed may be those that align with these shifts to redefine the concept of premium engagement in luxury jewellery retail.
