How to work around the Corona Virus for Jewelry Brands

Jewelry industry trends during the Corona Virus

It seems that we may all be on edge as the world decides to give us two strikes in a period of six months. The fires in Australia have finally stopped, my condolences to all the families and animals that have been affected. It’s amazing, that as soon as one major threat dies out, we are stunned by a new one. If you’ve been watching the news, I’m sure you’ve heard of it: Corona Virus, also known as Covid-19.

So what does this mean for all of us? For a lot of us, that means staying at home, be it working or relaxing with the family or for some of us by ourselves. It means supporting each other through these tough times, uplifting one another. The governments are getting together to decide what actions need to be taken in order to prevent the disease from spreading even more. It’s no wonder that some may be panicking, it almost seems like the end of the world, doesn’t it? The economy for the world will reach a temporary slump, we will no longer be seeing people at cafes, meeting up with friends in restaurants or bars. Will every single business be affected negatively? Will the virus keep spreading? Am I or you in danger of catching the virus? Why does all of this matter? Frustrated woman

In times of crisis, it’s very natural to feel somewhat helpless and staying positive can be quite difficult.. Unless emergency measurements are taken, yes the virus will keep spreading. Though on the plus side, it seems that Europe has been taking safety precautions very seriously, and even countries such as Thailand, where I’m at, are starting to follow suit. With announcements that emergency measures will be taken as of Tuesday. Am I or you in danger? If you stay at home and seclude yourself from the outside world, temporarily, most likely you’re not in danger.

  I’m here to tell you that there is a silver lining: no, not every business will be negatively affected. In the face of such a terrifying reality where the world as we know today could face a devastating world crisis, there are still opportunities and good things happening. I’m here to remind you to appreciate the good in this world and to talk to you about current opportunities in this industry that we love: jewelry.

 

Hopefully, you’re reading this from your home, and you remember that you are under a roof, safe, with food prepared for as long as necessary. What’s more? You still have the internet and a whole virtual world to explore so that you don’t become bored or crazy from isolating yourself, whether alone or with others.

 

Now Let’s talk a little bit about business and how the Corona Virus will be impacting our lives in terms of the economy.

 

Most economies, as you know it, will slow down. A lot of businesses that require your physical presence will also slow down. Some businesses may even be forced to shut down. There’s still hope for businesses though, and that’s in the online world. As more people are at home, with access to the internet, we shall see an increase in online audiences for some websites and a decrease to others. Some are seeking for interesting content to pass time, and others may be casually shopping here and there. To give you an idea of exactly how much the online world’s traffic has been impacted, I’ve included statistics below. Keep in mind that green means there’s an increase in traffic, red means there’s a decrease.

Figure 1.0. Brought to you by similarwebs.com

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At first glance, seems a little disappointing doesn’t it? Not surprisingly, news companies such as news.yahoo.co.jp, newyorktimes.com, and ucnews.in have increased in traffic. Shopping and entertainment platforms such as youtube.com, ebay.com, and pinterest.com have decreased. Does this mean that all online shopping businesses, especially the jewelry industry, are doomed? Let’s take a closer look.

Figure 2.0. Brought to you by similarwebs.com.

Category: E-commerce and Shopping > E-commerce and Shopping - Other

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Figure 3.0. Brought to you by Similarwebs.com

Category: E-commerce and shipping> auctions

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Does it seem like everything is going to S*** for us in the jewelry? Here’s where I’m going to give you a pleasant surprise!

Figure 4.0. Brought to you by similarwebs.com

Category: Lifestyle > Jewelry and Luxury Products

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Have you noticed that the websites highlighted in green are mainly fine jewelry brands? What does this mean? It means that people online are still checking out jewelry to buy from! And even those visits don’t always incur a sale, it means that this is the time to be building on useful or interesting content for the traffic. It’s your chance to make the best of a terrible situation by sharing your love for the jewelry on your website and through online channels. That way when we beat this slump and business goes back to normal, you are at the best place possible to capture as much value and provide as much value to your customers. Bear in mind, of course, to still be respectful to what’s going on in the world as you strategize and put out content.

 

Now that you know that people are still checking out online jewelry stores, let’s dive into what exactly they’re looking for within the jewelry industry.


Figure 5.0. Brought to you by similarwebs.com

Keywords

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With all of this being said, what are these brands doing to continue the increase of traffic to their website? I’ve chosen to share with you the highlights of some chosen case studies, as to what I think they’re doing to attract traffic.

  • Content
    • If you haven’t been focusing on building content on your website, or even your social media platforms, now is really the time to start doing so. People are at home, looking for things to entertain themselves with or even teach themselves. Jamesallen.com has a whole section dedicated to educating their customers on each aspect of the jewelry they offer. From fine jewelry to natural gemstones and more. Education, education, education. Keep it fun and interesting, so that your content will be valuable today and tomorrow. 
  • Great deals
    • For example, Kay.com sells diamonds and high-end jewelry, so they offer a Long Live Love Credit card, which allows you to buy their goods on credit. On top of that, they are offering a 25% discount plus an additional 10% for those who spend over $1,500. A lot of companies out there are slashing their prices, a lot of them in order to survive. Consumers know that and the ones that are still active are looking for a bargain. After all during these times of social distancing, wearing jewelry won’t be a priority. But an attractive sale of an item that someone has been wanting for a while may just tip them over, especially with all the free time they will have to look at your offers. 
  • Customer service
    • Brilliantearth.com does this outstandingly by offering virtual appointments, where you can actually talk to a person and receive guidance from specialists. The best part? Directly from your home! This is especially great now that people are mostly working from home and cannot go shopping in traditional outlets. Some people still enjoy the personal touch, especially when they are buying luxury jewelry or jewelry that requires a bigger financial commitment. By offering this kind of personal touch, you are bringing that experience to their homes, in a safe environment and on their terms. 

 

If you’re an offline jewelry brand, this is the time to go online. If you’re already an online jewelry brand, this is your time to take the three actions I’ve mentioned above. Moving on to actually driving traffic to your site. You may have the best content, deals and customer service in the world, none of that will matter if people don’t know about it. Especially if your stores are currently shut due to restrictions. If you already have customer details, now is the time to work hard on your email list and social media, especially if you don’t already have a website. You want to stay relevant and top of mind so that when they do decide to make a purchase, you will be the one they go to. 

 

So how do you get yourself out into the world? There are multiple ways, however, for the beginner’s guide, I recommend the following:

1. Social media; use hashtags (#) with keywords you used in your caption, or what your brand represents, or materials in your jewelry as a way of helping people find your posts.

2. Marketplaces & Shopping platforms; Yes, shopping platforms such as Amazon.com and Ebay.com show a red figure, which means a decrease in website traffic. However, if you look closely at the number of traffic, Ebay is still in the millions, and Amazon still in the billions. What better way to expose your brand to people than through these platforms? It may not necessarily drive sales instantly, though don’t be surprised if it does, but it will help you get your brand name out there, which ultimately can help drive traffic to your jewelry website.

 

You’ve considered how you’re going to improve the content, deal and customer service for your jewelry brand, as well as two ways of driving traffic to your website, what else can be done during this time?

 

Lately, I’ve been focusing, with my team, on improving our websites and completing all the backlogs.

For website improvements, I like to look at it from the perspective of someone who has never seen my website, this is why I like showing it to those who have never seen it and asking people what they think, I usually don’t think much about their feedback, though I do take some into consideration. The part that I think is most important is, what questions are they asking as they go through the site. If they ask, for example, “what kind of jewelry does your website sell?” I immediately know that the message on the homepage on what we’re selling isn’t clear enough. Whatever question they ask, if they don’t see that within the first or second minute of seeing the wholesale jewelry website,  that message isn’t clear enough.

 

Last but not least, backlogs. What are backlogs? To me, they’re important things that weren’t urgent at the time, that should have been done and to this day are still on the to-do list.

 

With such busy schedules, it happens that we leave important tasks behind,  tucked away in a closet, and sometimes it’s there for so long we can forget about them. This is why, after organizing yourself and achieving all the traffic and sales driven tasks, I recommend going back through your backlogs and ticking them off your to-do list. If you haven’t yet created a system to help you track your backlogs, I recommend www.trello.com or www.hubspot.com, both of which offer free tools to help you keep track of all your tasks. (I am not an affiliate of any of these websites, these are tools that my team and I use)

 

The world is at a strange place at the moment and calls for all of us to unite in our actions, support each other, share our positive vibes out there, so that we still have hope. I recommend we empathize with what’s going on around us, but that we also remember that our life is still going on and to make the best of where we are, what we have, and the people in our lives. I hope that this information has given you some insight into what’s going on in the world as well as the virtual world, and hopefully that it’s given you some hope.  

With love,

Wanvisa M. Goldman

Managing Director