Can pop culture savvy help jewelry sales?

At an educational session preceding the opening of the JCK Las Vegas show Thursday, retail sales consultant Shane Decker called on retailers to stop the guesswork when it comes to diamond sales.

In a packed afternoon session titled "How to Find and Hit the Hot Spots in Your Diamond Sales," he admonished a crowd of retail jewelers to do some research on pop culture for key age groups, which he defined as 23- to 34-year-olds, 34 to 45-years-olds and 45 and up.

He said jewelers should know what type of music consumers in these key demographic groups are listening to when they drive to work and which TV shows they are tuning into when they get home at night, in order to know the best places and times for advertising.

"You want information that is extremely specific," Decker said.

In a presentation that kept the crowd laughing throughout, Decker also told audience members to keep track of which inventory is selling so they know what to buy more of when the time comes— whether it be diamond solitaire necklaces or bangle bracelets—and at what prices.

"Don't wing it marketing. Don't wing it buying. Don't wing it marking it up either," he said.

Decker said Web sites such as Blue Nile are getting ahead of some retail jewelers simply because retail jewelers are forgetting how to sell diamonds.

He encouraged audience members to rid themselves of what he termed their "poverty-level" mentality and urged them to buy higher-quality, larger goods.

He shared the story of a retail jeweler in Arkansas who recently sold a pair of diamond earrings totaling 20 carats simply because the jeweler had them in stock.

"Don't tell me you can't make money on diamonds anymore," Decker said. "That's your thinking. You've got to change how you feel about your product."

The show floor for JCK Las Vegas opens today at the Venetian hotel. The show runs through June 3.
Source: nationaljewelernetwork