Has your brick and mortar jewelry store been struggling to compete with the major boom in e-commerce? Today, 79% of Americans shop online, and for many physical stores, it’s been hard to find ways to engage customers that are now so used to a digital experience.
The jewelry industry does still have one big advantage though — most buyers want to visit a store and see pieces in person before they make a big investment. However, you also need to provide an experience that engages your tech-savvy customers by merging the online and in-store shopping experiences. Pioneering retailers have already started to engage digital customers introducing digital technologies, like virtual fitting tools and virtual product aisles, in their stores.
To successfully leverage technology in your brick and mortar jewelry business, you need the right app for buying diamonds online to help you run your company and engage today’s buyers. Explore nine benefits you’ll experience when you adopt the right jewelry industry app for your business, and learn how these features enhance your customers’ gain.
#1. Enhanced Customer Engagement
You want your clients to feel like they’re working with a jewelry business that uses state-of-the-art technology. While it can be difficult for small businesses to keep up with the ever-changing designs and demands of modern technology, the right app can help you do just that. To have a truly enhanced customer experience, you need to utilize an app that has a sleek, advanced design, created to better engage today’s tech-savvy buyers.
#2. 24/7 Mobile Inventory Access
Sometimes, you need access to your inventory when you’re away from your physical business location, and devices like phones and tablets enable that mobility. With the right app, you can get an in-depth view of your inventory when you’re at a trade show, meeting with a client over lunch, or anywhere your business takes you.
#3. Instant Product Display
While it would be nice to have thousands of diamond or colored gemstone stored in your business to display at anytime for your customers, that would be a costly and complex prospect. You would have to purchase the gems from your vendors and then store them in an organized manner.
With the right jewelry industry app, you can have countless products displayed on your mobile device with a single tap of your finger. This instant product display helps you show customers exactly what they’re looking for. In the past, you would have called a vendor to find a specific gem in a strict price range. Even then, they may not have the right stone in stock or you often have to buy it sight unseen. Today, by using an advanced jewelry industry app, displaying and buying diamonds online has never been easier.
#4. Detailed Product Information and Images
Buyers accustomed to online shopping expect detailed images and product descriptions to accompany the products they’re buying. To accommodate those expectations, you need an app that provides product descriptions that you – the jewelry expert – can evaluate and high-definition images that will appeal to end buyers.
Look for an app that supplies professional-quality images and 360-degree views of the pieces you’re considering buying from vendors. Using your expert eye, you can identify any imperfections or potential reasons why a stone may to be ideal for a customer’s’ piece. Images are also a common motivator for today’s customers, too. So, the more views you have of a product, the more compelling a piece is to a buyer.
#5. Advanced Inventory Management
Managing inventory can be both time-consuming tedious and expensive, especially when you’re keeping track of numerous pieces and all their details. Having an app that provides access to an inventory that’s been organized for you, putting time back into your schedule and allowing you to find exactly what you need, exactly when you need it.
With pieces already categorized and organized, it’s easy to find and match the diamonds and gems you’re looking for. You can easily find pieces that you want, and this helps you engage online consumers interested in buying diamonds online. Look for an app that enables these advanced inventory management capabilities.
#6. Connection to New Vendors
To ensure that you and ultimately, your end buyers, are getting the best deals on quality diamonds and gems, you need a diverse network of vendors to conduct business with. With the right app, you’ll be able to view inventory from numerous vendors, enabling you to select the ones with the best stones for your needs. Instead of sticking to the same vendors you’ve used forever, gain access to a whole new database of vendors to purchase from.
#7. Competitive Advantage
Gain an advantage over your local competition by using a top jewelry industry app to source your inventory. When you’re buying diamonds online, from a wide variety of vendors, you can ensure that quality stones are used in your pieces, and they’re procured at appealing prices. This means you can give customers the best products at the best prices, which will help to solidify your reputation as the top jewelry business in your area.
#8. Cost-Effective Inventory Enhancement
A common problem that jewelry businesses face is ordering diamonds and gems based on a description from a vendor. Sometimes, unfortunately, when you receive the piece, it doesn’t live up to your expectations. Then, your inventory is inflated with diamonds or gems that you may or may not be able to use in the future.
With the right app, however, you can ensure you’re ordering the perfect piece, fitting your exact specifications each time you’re buying diamonds online. By narrowing down your results based on stone, price, cut, carat and more, you ensure you’re ordering the perfect diamond or gem for your customers’ needs.
#9. Omnichannel Experience
Finally, if you want to provide the best experience to your customers, you need a jewelry app that facilitates an omnichannel diamond and gem buying experience. Through omnichannel communication that includes push notifications, emails and live chat, you’re able to buy, memo, or place hold requests on the stone you’re interested in purchasing. The better you communicate with the vendors you’re using, the faster and easier the buying experience will be for both you and your customers.
Adopting an app that provides all of these benefits and features could revolutionize the way your jewelry business operates. Look for an app that meets your expectations. When you find it, you’ll be sure to improve your engagement with today’s digital buyers, and you’ll be able to gain a competitive advantage in your marketplace, too.