6 Visual Merchandising Tips for Jewelry Stores

Looking for ways to boost sales at your jewelry store?

You might be considering buying more inventory, advertising more, or raising prices. These tactics can help, but you should also think about ways to improve how you present the jewelry already in your cases.

Effective visual merchandising strategies can change how a customer sees a product. If a diamond ring or sapphire bracelet sits on a dull shelf against a plain background, it may fail to catch a customer's eye. But with high-quality displays, strategic lighting, and distinct branding, you highlight the unique beauty of each jewel.

Remember: Visual merchandising extends to all visual aspects of your business — including walls, furniture, lighting, branding, and displays. Intentionally planning for each of these considerations helps you foster a unique atmosphere at your jewelry store that motivates customers to make a purchase.

In this blog, we’ll explore our top six visual merchandising tips for your jewelry store, so you can improve customers’ experience and boost your bottom line.

Let’s get started.

1. Define Your Brand Identity

Our first visual merchandising tip is to define your brand identity. Start by determining what kind of jewelry store you want to run. There are a variety of different kinds of jewelry stores, and your choice may be based on local demand, financial resources, and/or personal preference.

Here are a few types of jewelry stores to consider:

• Boutique jewelers: These tend to be small businesses with their own lines of jewelry, and they seek to create a friendly, approachable atmosphere with a handmade, artisan feel.
• Estate jewelers: These stores sell vintage and antique jewelry, and emphasize rare and unique offerings. This kind of store might have a vintage-inspired design.
• Bridal jewelers: These stores specialize in engagement rings and other jewelry for brides, often offering custom design services. They typically aim to create a bright and clean atmosphere.
• High-end jewelers: These stores offer jewelry from top-tier brands with premium materials, and often try to create a minimalist atmosphere that emphasizes luxury and value.
• Bench jewelers: These stores specialize in custom jewelry and repairs. Visible workbenches, tools, and materials build a customer’s trust in the staff’s expertise.

Once you’ve determined what kind of jewelry store you want to run, it’s time to build a brand identity around it. Be consistent as you create imagery and decorate your store according to your style. This includes logos, fonts, the look of your store’s interior and exterior, packaging, and staff dress code.

Cost-effective tip: Improving your jewelry store’s atmosphere doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul. Even simple improvements like a new coat of paint or new display cases make a difference in the look and feel of your store.

2. Optimize Your Store Layout

The way you organize your store affects how customers browse, what they see, and ultimately what they buy. A best practice for any retail business is to create a logical path for a shopper to follow throughout the sales floor. 

Some jewelry stores follow a “loop” design, where customers walk around the store in a circle. Other stores choose a “grid” design, with displays forming rows throughout the sales floor.

A larger sales floor is more conducive to a grid design, while a loop design may work better for a smaller space. As you set up your store’s layout, sort jewelry into logical groups. You can categorize them by jewelry type (rings, earrings, necklaces, etc.), gemstone, metal, or style.

You can add comfortable seating for customers’ convenience, too. They may want to sit down as they talk to an associate or decide between multiple options. Additional details like plants or lamps help to make your jewelry store feel more lived-in.

Cost-effective tip: You may not need to buy new furniture or display cases to improve your store’s layout. Look at your current setup, and decide if there’s a logical flow and if items are organized. If not, make improvements as necessary.

3. Create Unique Product Displays

Most jewelry stores are full of displays, and it starts with the store’s exterior. A window display gives customers a glimpse of your products. Choose popular products to catch the attention of passersby and draw customers into the store. Give the display a theme, whether it’s a certain gemstone, style, or seasonal offering.

In-store displays can be grouped by collection, metal, or gemstone. Placing certain displays close to the front of your store makes them more immediately visible when a customer walks in — this makes it a great place for top-sellers, seasonal items, or items you’d like to sell more quickly.

Displays close to the point of purchase tend to be filled with lower-value items, including upsells and high-margin products, like cleaning kits or gift wrap. You can also advertise bundles at the register. If a customer buys an amethyst bracelet, you can offer them a matching set of studs for a discounted rate.

Cost-effective solution: You can likely create compelling displays from what you already have at your store. If the sales floor seems stale, try rotating displays to different areas or presenting the same jewelry in a new way.

Related Read: Where To Source Jewelry Display Trays: 11 Top Vendors

4. Use Strategic Lighting Techniques

Great lighting helps you showcase the shine and brilliance of your jewelry, so make sure it’s generous. You can put lights in display cases to highlight certain gemstones — cool, white light tends to be better for diamonds and emeralds, while warmer lighting is a better accent for garnets and citrine. Adjust the angle of lighting to make gemstones shine while minimizing glare and dark spots.

Cost-effective solution: Use energy-saving lighting, including smart plugs and automatic dimmers, to save on energy costs.

5. Implement Security-Smart Merchandising

Because your jewelry store holds small, highly valuable items, it’s a prime target for theft. To prevent this, you need to make security a top priority. Cameras are an easy way to keep an eye on your entire store — plus, the recorded footage is available should there be a security issue. Aim these cameras at the register, at display cases, and at the store’s exits.

Keep high-value items in your store behind locked cases. It’s common for customers to want to try jewelry on, but having a staff member help them do this prevents theft.

Cost-effective solution: Not every jewelry store can afford a cutting-edge security system, but comprehensive employee training helps you secure your store. Hold drills for what to do in an emergency, and ensure each employee knows how to properly secure inventory and lock up display cases and the building. Review this information regularly and with each new employee you hire.

Related Read: POS Security for High-Value Jewelry: 3 Ways To Protect Your Investment

6. Track Your ROI

Sure, revitalizing your jewelry store’s layout and organization can improve customer experience — but does it actually translate to higher sales? The only way to find out is to track your progress. Pay attention to which items are selling the most. If you use a point of sale (POS) system, you can create custom reports to see this data. 

Determine which displays are selling the most, and which ones are underperforming. Then, adjust your strategy to maximize the effectiveness of each display.

Cost-effective solution: Some displays will be more popular than others. A display’s popularity could be due to the product, it’s the position in the store, or how the display is set up. Test different options and pay attention to the effect on sales. You may find more success by rearranging existing displays.

Related Read: How To Read Your Jewelry Store’s Sales Data (and What It’s Really Telling You)

Upgrade Your Store’s Visual Merchandising

Jewelry retail is a competitive market, and following these six visual merchandising tips helps you make your store stand out. Start by developing your brand and designing your store accordingly. Then, create a layout that makes it easy for customers to browse and find what they’re looking for. Put together interesting product displays, and use strategic lighting to present the jewelry you sell.

Don’t forget to consider security. If needed, install cameras and cases that lock to deter theft. Finally, pay attention to sales to see what visual merchandising strategies have the greatest impact on sales. Repeat strategies that are successful, and avoid the ones that don’t move the needle.

A modern POS system like Jewel360 helps you find insights in your sales data. Our all-in-one cloud-based retail solution is built specifically for jewelry stores, and offers a variety of industry-specific features, including access to vendor catalogs and modules for offering repair services. It’s also equipped with general retail capabilities like payment processing, e-commerce, and inventory management.

To see what Jewel360 can do for your store, schedule a demo today!