Where To Buy Jewelry
Posted at May 31, 2009 in Gifts
Walking into the jewelry store to make that special purchase for yourself or a loved one used to be quite daunting. In the midst of the array of fine and expensive jewelry pieces stood the expert jeweler with all the facts about the quality of the craftsmanship and the true value of the products on display. When sharing this information with you the customer they sometimes made you feel that without their expert knowledge and advice you could not possibly be expected to make the right choice.
Not only did the jeweler own the keys to the knowledge that enabled a value for money judgment to be made, he was also the sole source of the supply of jewelry. Obviously there was at least the element of competition between jewelry stores, but this competition was focused more on the ambience in the store and the uniqueness of the products made available rather than competition on the basis of price alone. Profit margins in excess of 50% of the retail price were not uncommon ” some reaching as high as 75%. Achieving any sort of price reduction was virtually impossible for the regular customer to negotiate.
But then a change in the market took place ” a change that has affected many industries and businesses and one that generates more changes almost each day. The Internet. Within a very short space of time, competition expanded dramatically. Internet businesses had lower costs, so they could afford to charge less for their products. Even more alarming for the jeweler, all of a sudden they enabled the customer to carry out some quiet and thorough research before committing to any purchase or before he was subjected to any sort of sales pitch.
All of a sudden, customers were not quite so easy to control! Many of them now came into the jewelers store already informed about technical aspects such as carat weights, diamond colors and independent appraisals. They demanded shorter delivery times and lower prices and would compare these with other Mall and online stores to make sure they got the best deal.
The traditional jeweler was faced with an enormous change. His preferred way of doing business was as it had always been – greeting the customer as he or she came through the door, providing guidance and encouragement while steering them towards the highly profitable pieces of jewelry on display.
A new breed of jewelers, and especially online stores, turned this on its head. They became far more customer focused ” they were prepared to match the products they supplied to the requirements of their customers and they were also happy to provide as much information as the customer wanted before reaching a decision. They were prepared to do this as a strategy to attract customers to this new way of doing business. They were also prepared to compete on prices, which they could afford to do precisely because of their lower overheads.
Market competition due to the development and advancement of the Internet has met the customers needs. The jewelry buyer is much more informed and so able to demand a better deal because of this way of doing business.
