Effective & safe ways to display jewelry

Jewelry is precious. It is special. It reflects the wearer's personality. These qualities of jewelry should be reflected in their display in order to attract customers.

Jewelry comes in all budget sizes, from chunky party wear and costume jewelry that is comparatively inexpensive, to semi-precious jewelry to top-of-the line jewelry with precious metals and stones. Each kind of jewelry will attract a different kind of clientele - and should be displayed accordingly.

Despite the various kinds of jewelry available, a common aim among jewelry buyers is that jewelry should appear to be more expensive than it is. Quality workmanship and exclusivity of design are two points that will make jewelry stand out. This is one area where people will not be flattered by mimicry (i.e., a jewelry owner will not be flattered to see too many other people wearing an identical piece).

Given below are several points that address the two major aspects of jewelry display - safety and effectiveness.

Effectiveness

1. Jewelry Is Exclusive: The display unit should contain just a few special pieces that are well spaced out so that customers can appreciate each piece can individually.

2. Jewelry Is Precious and Expensive: The lighter and more discrete the piece, the more expensive it is likely to be. The more expensive a piece of jewelry is, the more distant it should be kept from other jewelry so that its exclusivity stands out. This may seem a difficult proposition, especially when space means money. A way around this is to display just a few pieces at a time. Interested customers can be shown other similar pieces that are kept in closed units. This also allows the merchandiser to frequently rotate the pieces on display and give the display a new look.

3. Jewelry Can Be Made To Suit Different Budgets: Every woman loves to adorn herself with jewelry, but each woman has a different priority when spending money for jewelry. A Jewelry display should be discretely divided into different budget segments. Pricing should be discrete, as it is considered 'vulgar' to advertise the amount you are spending on jewelry. 4. Trained Staff who are knowledgeable about the metal and stones used in the jewelry are an asset, as customers often have limited knowledge on the subject. Staff should also have good selling skills to be able to judge the mood of the customer. They should know when to give the customer a little space to make the 'buying decision' and whether or not presenting too many choices to the customer will help them make a choice or confuse them.

Safety

1. Trained and vigilant staff will help prevent a lot of thefts. The staff should quickly and discretely be able to account for all the pieces of jewelry under their charge (i.e., they should be able to tally the pieces that have been taken out to be shown, the pieces being put back and the pieces being bought).

2. Security is a major issue at all jewelry stores, especially those selling expensive jewelry. The security should be effective; however, it should also establish a balance between being visible (so as to discourage sticky fingers) and being discrete.

3. Security systems should be secure! They should not be easy to tamper with. This also tends to make them expensive, but it is money well spent. Security systems should consist of locked cabinets, security cameras and monitors, exclusive security personnel. An important aspect of security is that it also calls for co-operation from the local police.

Keep in mind that the design of your jewelry displays will be dictated by the kind of jewelry you sell and the profile of your target clientele.

Well-displayed jewelry is half sold.

About the Author:

Tim Pelcone consults with retail store owners to improve their merchandising effectiveness. In Sacramento he recommends Capitol Store Fixtures for creating custom retail store fixtures or for obtaining special items such as jewelry display supplies.