Sawansukha Jewellers tastes success with first-ever virtual experience store in India

If beauty is the biggest factor for jewellery, experience comes second. In times when customers find it too risky to visit a store, it is a responsibility and challenge for the retail brand to give a similar experience virtually. Many brands have released e-commerce websites to give their customers a way to shop online. But there is a huge difference that Sawansukha Jewellers has done with their virtual store.

Clicking on the link, one simply needs to press a play button to land on the doorstep of the regal Sawansukha virtual showroom. A blinking arrow mark gets one inside the showroom with a seamless 360 degree visibility. Interestingly, the virtually spacious area is dotted with select jewellery pieces. Clicking on the plus sign allows one to try on the jewellery through the MirrAR AI facility.

On the upper left hand side of the screen are three options of diamond, gold and jadau, each of which takes the user to different floors dedicated to the corresponding jewellery formats, akin to the brand’s architecture in Kolkata. Besides, there are Call-to-action buttons for WhatsApp chat over chosen jewellery pieces and an option to book appointments. Such a compact presentation gets the final touch of excellence with an instrumental background music of the timeless Bollywood song ‘Tere Mere Milan ki ye Raina’.

This experience gives a breathing space to the brand’s customers, some of whom have also travelled across cities for their jewellery until lockdowns barred everyone from getting out. Designed in Rajasthani décor with beige, cream, gold and the Sawansukha signature Red, the virtual store tantalizes any bride-to-be with its presentation. “The pandemic was constricting our communication with our clientele as they were not able to travel to our showrooms. To break the geographical boundary, we launched our virtual store where we’ve displayed one-of-a-kind bridal jewellery pieces,” said Siddhartha Sawansukha, MD, Sawansukha Jewellers.

The experiment has been successful, as the brand could understand the changing purchasing pattern of customers, who explore through the virtual store, and schedule virtual appointments to look into more products. “Once they have made a selection, they mostly visit the store to purchase. The amalgamation of the technology along with the touch and feel factor of the jewellery purchase has been a great pair,” Sawansukha maintained, adding that this blend of online experience and offline purchase is what keeps customers interested. The brand has actually been getting inquiries from UK, USA and UAE, where the 250-year-old brand doesn’t yet have a brick-and-mortal store.

The online market is a growing platform and Sawansukha has set a precedent with the first ever virtual jewellery experience store for its customers. The brand has received equally promising enquiries for each of its categories as a wide age bracket of 23-40 years is surfing the store online. With this good a start, the brand believes that the virtual store will carve a path in Indian jewellery retail.

Written by Shubham Dasgupta

RJ exclusive