The Golden Ticket to Jewelry Sales
The winter holidays are upon us, and that means that you have much more to prepare for than the family Christmas dinner. This is the prime time to ride the festive tide and grow your business.
According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, 2019’s seasonal shopping from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 was up 3.4% over the year before, with online sales swelling 18.8%, while jewelry sales alone increased 8.8%. It’s always a happy holiday season for jewelry, but particularly e-commerce sales are on the rise so this is definitely the time to go wild.
The Holidays’ Season Specials
- Main events. There are over 20 events you can find. For the jewelry industry, we targeted Black Friday (November 29th this year), Christmas ( December 24th), New Years (December 31st), and Valentines ( February 14th) as the big ones. There are many more, such as Cyber Monday, Green Monday and Boxing Day, but they are less about jewelry. Smaller events, however, can sometimes be relevant for jewelry- like Halloween ( October 31st).
- Buying seasons. These are more about your jewelry, location, and logistics. Naturally, more expensive jewelry bought locally means better shipping than cheap jewelry purchased from other continents. So for a $50 fashion jewelry brand with international shipping, the 3-4 week delivery is quite normal, and the purchases start in early September, while the $1200 diamond rings brand is expected to deliver within 2-3 days maximum and can be purchased also a week before the event.
- Wintertime
- Carrier and fulfillment loads. Carrier and fulfillment loads. The holiday season always means more sales, which means shipping carriers and logistic centers are overloaded with work. Some of them, like FBA, even announce a slower shipment time during the peaks (and deserve a thumbs up for being honest!). Conclusion- Take into account that your jewelry will ship slower than usual.
- Weather. It’s pretty self explanatory, but every year during wintertime something goes wrong on the roads or in the air, and delivery gets stuck. Every year. This point is especially important for jewelers from warm countries to keep in mind 🙂
Making The Most Of It
In order to fully take advantage of the opportunity, you will need solid holiday marketing strategies. Here are some ideas for you to consider:
- Adjust your product line. Add holiday-related products, since some jewelry is more relevant to a specific holiday. Snowflake earrings will work best before Christmas, and a heart-shaped pendant will sell out before Valentine’s day. With some imagination, any earring can get a “winter-inspired design” and your gothic jewelry could be positioned as a Halloween theme. 🙂
- Religious jewelry. Remember that this time of year has more than just Christian holidays! Jewish and Islamic themes can add major sales. Look out for opportunities.
- Adjust your brand.. Selling jewelry is not just selling a piece, it’s creating the experience of buying something special. Rebranding with the holiday theme in mind goes a long way. Some easy ideas to include:
- Add a holiday-designed card for gifts.
- Showcase your jewelry box in the relevant atmosphere (Mistletoes, Christmas trees, winter colors, etc’)
- Add promotional content like a “Jingle Bells Sale”, a “ New Year’s Resolution”, or a “Holiday Special”.
- Invest in promoting and advertising. Some research suggests that organic results can be hard to get in the holiday season since competition is too high amid the holiday marketing extravaganza. Consider spending some money on targeted ads to boost your sales.
- Aggressive sales – December is the last chance of the year, for both sellers and buyers. Offer major discounts, coupons, and sales for existing clients – this is the money time!
- Don’t forget about SEO – “Xmas gift”, “Christmas jewelry”, and “Holiday gifts” tags are more relevant than ever.
- Be human. Millennials, the driving force in the market, are less about brands and more about identity. Don’t shy away from showing yours. An Instagram Halloween costume competition or a New Year’s discount coupon sent with a brief thank-you letter to your top 50 customers can take you a long way.
- Offer fast shipping. People aren’t perfect. And sometimes they forget to get holiday gifts for their beloved (Much like the author of this article). That means you can count on a peak just before the holidays. If you can help out your buyers with a quick shipment, you win both their appreciation and your sales. Closer to December, last-minute clients become desperate and are willing to pay double for fast delivery. So offer that super-fast shipping, and if your overnight shipping costs more than the product itself – it’s OK and still worth it.
- Know your customers – and your sales channels. Make sure to keep an eye on the stats for both your ads and channels to see which bring you deals, and which don’t. It might be too much of a hassle, given all the holiday buzz, so be sure to have the right tools to help you out and analyze the numbers.
Marketplaces do their research too. Check your seller dashboards for the recommendations, it can pay off. - Spread the workload. The holiday season is about selling, not planning. If you’re re-doing your product descriptions, organizing store sections, or improving images during the sales season – you’re losing money as we speak. Have your strategy, required content, and to-do list ready before the sales peak so that all is left to do during the season itself is execution. Everything will come easier that way, even if you’ve been packing jewelry for the last 36 hours!
Happy selling!
