There is one question I hear from brick and mortar jewellers more than any other. “How can I stay competitive?”
Often running successful, multi-generational businesses that are pillars of their local communities, these jewellers are struggling with this very question. And the answer? Technology.
We can break this down into two parts.
If you are an independent retailer selling a diamond engagement ring and you want to compete with the big retailers, you need to offer your customers the best diamond in the world, not just the best diamond in your area or even your country. It has become difficult to offer the best and most competitive price to a retail customer without a global supply chain.
At Nivoda, we list over 1.6 million natural and lab-grown diamonds on our platform that are instantly available to retailers, making it easy for them to search the globe and find the right diamond for their customers. However, without a powerful sales tool to present and sell these diamonds to retailers, they are just videos on a screen.
The landscape for brick and mortar jewellers has changed in important ways. Gone are the days when a retail customer had only a few places to find a diamond, their local jewellery store. With customers having access to hundreds of jewellers, especially with the growing online sector, traditional jewellers need to use technology to modernise their approach.
A big part of the puzzle is to reduce the inventory risk that online players simply do not carry. So the question is, how do I offer my customers diamonds at the best prices in the world without having to carry inventory? This is something that Nivoda has solved. We offer a virtual sales tool called Nivoda Showroom to solve this very dilemma. Retailers can now offer their customers the perfect stone, regardless of location, with their unique branding, logo and retail prices displayed on an iPad or laptop during appointments or walk-ins. The result? Hundreds of jewellers tell us they have increased their margins and are converting more sales than ever before. When retailers always have the right diamond available, the customer never has to leave the store before finding their diamond.
Throughout my years in the jewellery industry, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing exactly how technology can benefit a business and have watched many clients embrace the new way of buying diamonds and selling them to their customers.
For any jewellery retailers reading this who are wondering “how can I stay competitive?” or who are simply looking to invest in the future of their business through the use of technology, I invite you to join our free platform. I look forward to continuing the process of learning and building solutions with some of the most interesting and insightful business owners, independent jewellers.
