Against a backdrop of economic challenges and market uncertainty, the jewelry industry is facing headwinds. Retailers continue to seek new marketing strategies, adopting multipronged sales initiatives to keep loyal customers on board and engage with new and younger clients. Though bridal spending continues, today’s shoppers have high expectations for what stores must deliver when it comes to elevated experiences. To meet these needs, retailers are combining digital marketing with enhanced in-store experiences and greater personalized services. They are navigating the complex jewelry landscape by embracing technology, hosting special sales events, partnering with specific brands and carrying exclusive lines from designers.
Brand collabs
Sometimes, a celebrity puts a brand in the spotlight, such as when Kwiat diamond crawlers were spotted on actress Margot Robbie and ended up on the wish lists of brides across the US. Florida-based retailer Be On Park, which collaborates with Kwiat, immediately highlighted the piece on Instagram. The move followed a successful partnership with Kwiat’s Mine to Shine traceability program for the diamonds the store uses, creating essential added value for brides keen on knowing a stone’s provenance.
Owner Emily Dowling Williams’s plan — to team up with a brand that has a competitive strategy — has allowed her to stand out in a “very saturated” bridal jewelry market, she says. Her close ties with Kwiat, including participation in the jeweler’s Bridal Borrow program, have enabled a lot of her clients to wear the designer’s pieces for their weddings. Clients who have bought Kwiat engagement or wedding rings can reserve an additional jewel valued at up to 100% of the purchase price to wear at their nuptials or on another momentous occasion.
“People come to us specifically for that program,” says Williams, who leans on social media to drive traffic to her store. Pop-ups and high-end cocktail parties — which she hosts in partnership with members-only clubs — are some of the other ways she builds regional awareness.
Tyler Underwood is another store owner who has found ways to stand out.
“Consumers are becoming more aware of the revolving cookie-cutter trends our industry has been pushing for decades,” observes the creative director of Underwoods Fine Jewelers in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This has caused brides to “cling on to more individualistic styles that represent their own identity, leading to a big push for more unique custom pieces.”
In-store shopping offers a great sales opportunity, adds vice president Troy Underwood. “Even with the advancements of technology and the increase in making online experiences more interactive, nothing beats the in-store experience in the fine-jewelry retail space.”
A cornerstone of his business, he says, is that “if you want your clients to walk away fulfilled, you must create an experience that fills their cup beyond just the thrill a purchase brings.”
User-generated content
The post-sale relationship, meanwhile, is at the heart of business for the owners of Greenwich St. Jewelers, who aim to build lifetime value.
“We are seeing a 10% increase year over year,” says co-owner Christina Gandia Gambale. She has seen an uptick in sales for natural-diamond engagement jewelry, with the best-selling price point hovering between $15,000 and $30,000. Developing its own New York-made collection of engagement-ring mountings from SCS-certified recycled gold and platinum has enabled Greenwich St. to enhance its offerings and turn bridal jewelry into a lucrative segment. Greenwich St. has also had great success in booking engagement-ring appointments through digital video ads.
“Our strongest video creative is done in partnership with social media creators in a user-generated content style,” shares co-owner Jennifer Gandia. This year, the store collaborated with content creators and influencers from the area on targeted events to reach both local and nonlocal jewelry communities on social media. These team-ups enhanced the retailer’s visibility.
“We’ve found it effective to let creators speak about their Greenwich St. experience online and visually show what sets us apart,” she relates. TikTok and Instagram videos in this spirit connected the retailer with a much wider audience in an authentic way.
In August, the store saw its “social media inquiries increase 1,300% 2025, and a 350% increase year on year in online sales, from these collaborations,” says Gandia, whose digital marketing plan utilizes Google, Meta, Pinterest advertising, and SEO optimization.
To improve social media engagement, the retailer’s team regularly posts its available diamond rings, in-house bespoke designs, and wedding ring stacks — all part of the weekly social media strategy for Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. Newsletters and SMS campaigns also serve to update clients on anything new and special. The emphasis on exclusive offerings is key. Gandia carries items from brands Single Stone and Erika Winters, and regularly hosts trunk shows. Wedding-focused events with other local businesses also help Greenwich St. tap into cross-marketing.
Physical-digital presence
To amplify its presence and reinforce its valuable market position, Hamilton Jewelers chooses to sell only natural diamonds and gemstones with Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certification. This decision has augured well for the business, reports executive vice president Anne Russell.
“One of our biggest attributes is having such a strong brick-and-mortar presence in both Princeton, [New Jersey,] and Palm Beach, [Florida],” she remarks. An interactive event for early 2025 will give clients a chance to try on rings.
“We are working on a reimagined event from the past, [the trademarked] ‘Put a Ring on It,’” she continues. The #LoveStories campaign encourages clients to share their personal experiences for the store to feature in its social media accounts and print media, including Accent, the jeweler’s in-house magazine. Russell cites steady year-on-year growth in the category and finds the percentage of new clients in the company’s New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida markets encouraging.
“The engagement-ring section of the website sees the highest traffic on our site. Driving sales for bridal jewelry is a major focus, with a big push coming up via direct mail,” adds Russell. These initiatives require team bandwidth and increased marketing spending.
Sometimes, a diamond trade-up program is an effective game plan. One such initiative from New York-based London Jewelers guarantees “100% trade-in value of diamond engagement rings or diamond studs purchased at London Jewelers toward a new piece,” shares vice president Scott Udell. The customer can use the credit to purchase either a diamond ring or studs that cost at least double the price of the original jewel. In addition, couples who buy an engagement ring at the company’s Two by London boutiques get benefits such as a 20% discount on wedding bands, a free initial ring sizing, a one-year ring checkup, professional jewelry cleaning, and lifetime upgrades, Udell says.
Leveraging data
Perhaps the most critical element, retailers say, is customer data that provides insight into sales. Data-driven information helps Los Angeles-based Bhindi Jewelers tailor its brand strategy, offering an immersive shopping experience
and personalized product recommendations.
“We leverage high-impact collaborations with influencers
and industry experts to enhance brand credibility and reach, while simultaneously implementing targeted marketing campaigns to drive engagement and boost sales,” explains
co-owner Sanat Bhindi.
The “Drop a Hint” feature on the Bhindi website enables visitors to suggest jewelry to friends and family discreetly, driving organic traffic and potential sales. Influencer partnerships showcasing real weddings and engagements
help the retailer create aspirational content targeting bridal clients. Leaning on its Indian roots, the retailer has also reimagined the mangalsutra, an emblem of marital status for Indians, in a modern way. “Our mangalsutras speak directly to the younger generation of Indian Americans,” says Bhindi.
What else can companies do differently to surge ahead with sales? Charlie Green, director of stores for jeweler Lux Bond & Green, likes to stay ahead of the trends. Green carries only natural diamonds and strives to educate customers. His retail team also devotes time to following TikTok and Instagram in order to keep abreast of current and upcoming trends. He believes in providing honest, consistent, high-quality, customer-focused service.
“Our employees are not offered commission, whether or not they effect a sale,” says Green, whose company has stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts. “This, in turn, alleviates pressure on our customers to make a purchase and allows our team to provide the best customer experience they possibly can.”
Bridal events that include discounts on the purchase price take place on weekends, and the retailer participates in bridal lifestyle expos each year. Little wonder, then, that Green has been able to track a “double-digit” growth percentage in bridal sales over the past couple of years.
The customization edge
Transformable jewels are the way forward for big-ticket items. These give buyers more bang for their buck — and CD Peacock Jewelers in Chicago has been quick to spot this trend picking up steam in the jewelry market, especially bridal. Its own bridal collection features stackable pieces and customization options.
“Our in-house design team can create any ring imaginable,” says Kristin Milne, the retailer’s business manager for bridal, estate buys and appraisals. “Clients have sketched their own designs, drawn inspiration from existing ones, and even repurposed diamonds from heirloom jewelry to create truly one-of-a-kind engagement rings.”
Vice chairman Steven Holtzman has created an exceptional space with the new CD Peacock Mansion. Besides a curated jewelry selection, the location includes a bar, a lounge and a bridal salon. Leveraging technology and offering a diverse range of fine- and high-jewelry brands, the location aims to deliver a standout experience and excellent service.
Sometimes, it helps for a company to show the media how it adds value at the factories that make its wares. Jeweler Ben Bridge “collaborated with editors at top publications to take them to India to see for themselves the quality and craftsmanship that goes into our exclusive Bella Ponte [custom bridal] line and how we are able to leverage innovative technology to make customization accessible to all,” relates Stacy Speicher, the company’s vice president of marketing. The content resulting from these trips, she adds, has helped the retailer tell the story in a more objective way with a broader reach.
Molly Peterson, Ben Bridge’s bridal buyer, notes a shift toward bridal clients wanting an exclusive, authentic experience when purchasing a ring. Bella Ponte now makes up the majority of the company’s bridal business, she points out.
“We have specialty-designed hologram machines in each of our stores that allow customers to view their custom pieces before purchasing,” she adds.
Ben Bridge’s marketing approach incorporates both traditional and nontraditional tactics, according to Speicher; it harnesses a full-funnel marketing and media strategy that includes everything from outdoor advertising via billboards to a strong digital marketing plan. A couple of times per year, the Seattle-based retailer holds “diamond shows” at the stores, where clients can access a wider variety of loose diamonds, including some special offers.
As key American retailers draw up consistent and clear marketing strategies to ensure long-term business growth, they are beginning to see positive results. Taking encouragement from customer responses, enthusiastic store owners are earmarking budgets to renew their focus on digital strategies, collaborations, and in-store experiences.
Main Image: The bridal salon at CD Peacock’s Chicago store. (CD Peacock)
This article is from the October-November 2024 issue of Rapaport Magazine. View other articles here.
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