Would you like to increase foot traffic for your store and improve your sales?! At the JA New York Spring Show, Amanda Gizzy, Director of Public Relations & Events for Jewelers of America and columnist of ‘Amanda’s Style File’ lead a discussion on “Identifying Key Trends to Increase Sales.”
“When we see color, we have to see jewelry,” Gizzi pointed out that understanding and staying on top of trends are key in increasing sales and notoriety.
“Fashion and jewelry go hand-in-hand,” Gizzi elaborated. “Fashion has a faster lifecycle than ever before, which directly affects the jewelry industry.” Staying on top of runway shows, especially during the month of fashion week from New York to Milan to Paris, will only serve to help. There, you will be able to come up with new designs or concepts to bring into your store, designing for Fall trends and styles in July, and remembering to stay ‘in the now” by shopping for Spring trends.
Gizzi pointed out a couple of key factors to keep in mind:
Mega trends – long term trends affecting society i.e. fast fashion, runway looks, red carpet looks, Pantone’s color of the year, and current events (e.g. women empowerment)
Macro trends- Big picture trends like stacking that will stick around; showing costumers how to stack rings, bracelets and necklaces properly creates repeat costumers and allows consumer to create a collection
Micro trends – smaller more detailed trends such as chokers
Gizzi suggests that you must use celebrities to spot trends, using the example of Rihanna to illustrate. She asked us what we noticed about the megastar, her main features being jewelry! She is known for her bountiful stacks of rings, necklaces, and bracelets. A prime example of what’s trending and what’s to come. Stay in touch with fashion Olympians such as RiRi to stay ahead.
“What are you going to do once you spot these trends?”
4 steps
1. Stock them – make them visible to people in your store
2. Merchandise them – show them in photo shoots, and in eye catching displays
3. Promote them- use signage, website and social media
4. Refresh them- make them look newer–even if it is the same jewelry, mix it up to match new trends
“You do not have to do every trend,” Gizzi summarized, “Stay true to your brand’s DNA and only do what makes sense for your store. Keep a cohesive look from emails to social media to your website. They should all tell the same story. And remember to always try to stay at least one jump ahead!”
?StayTrending!
