Jewellers come up with sales strategies to tackle the lean season in jewellery retail

While the brands introduced offers and promotions to draw more customers to store and boost online sales, they kept track of the regions where the offers were well-received and worked effectively for amping up footfalls and purchases

Mumbai: The monsoon season, while generally welcomed after the summer, presents specific challenges for jewellery retailers. The heavy rains often result in waterlogged streets, traffic congestion, and other disruptions. This can lead to a decrease in foot traffic at retail stores and hence, is traditionally considered a lean season for sales.

To address these challenges, jewellers are implementing various strategies to maintain customer interest and sales. Many are offering promotions, discounts, and special offers to attract customers. These marketing initiatives are designed to ensure a steady flow of customers and mitigate the impact of reduced in-store activity.

Retailers such as Ricky Vasandani, CEO, Solitario Lab Grown Diamonds, said that certain regions responded extremely well to the promotions and offers that the brand floated during the lean season periods. The brand opted for a range of promotions such as discounts of up to 15% on total purchases and gold or silver coins for a minimum purchase value. These offers effectively boosted sales by providing tangible incentives to customers.

“There are many factors why Pune, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Bangalore responded well. Firstly, these typically have a larger consumer base with higher disposable incomes, making them more receptive to promotional activities. The intense competition in these regions often necessitates aggressive promotional strategies to attract customers,” said Vasandani. He also pointed out that the demographics of these cities tend to include a significant portion of early adopters and trendsetters, who are more likely to respond positively to limited-period offers.

Some jewellers are strengthening their online presence to reach customers who prefer to shop from home during the monsoon.

Others such as Silvya Jewels added the incentive to their offers in the form of jewellery. “We offered a 10% discount to our returning customers as a loyalty reward. We also offered a free silver ring worth Rs.1199 on orders of Rs.1999 or more in our end-of-season sale. This helped us increase our sales by up to 30%,” said Prakhar Nathani, Director, Silvya Jewels. The jewellery brand reported that most of their orders came from the western region of India comprising Maharashtra and Gujarat and, in the North, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Brands with an omnichannel presence have also benefited through offers and promotions during the lean periods. ORRA Fine Jewellery introduced several strategic promotions to boost sales. These include a curated diamond box set priced at Rs 1,19,999, a 25% discount on diamond jewellery, and a flat 20% off on diamond necklace sets. Additional offers such as a 0% deduction on old gold jewellery exchanges and 0% interest EMI facilities make our luxury pieces more accessible.

“The affordability of entry-level diamond pieces with Solis starting at Rs 9,999 and the 0% interest EMI options made luxury jewellery accessible to a broader demographic, driving sales and enhancing brand loyalty,” said a spokesperson at ORRA Fine Jewellery.

These promotions have successfully increased footfall and online traffic, enhancing sales and customer loyalty.

The fine jewellery brand also tracked the volume of sales based on regional demographic. Due to traditional occasions such as Hariyali Teej and Varalaxmi Vratham, along with pre-Independence Day buying, the North and South regions responses exceptionally well to the promotions. “This was driven by a high density of affluent customers who value premium diamond jewellery. The curated diamond box set and substantial discounts on diamond pieces resonated strongly, leading to increased footfall and sales,” said the spokesperson. In the West region, cities like Pune, Goa, Indore & Bhopal also showed robust responses due to their affinity for diamond jewellery.

Written by Aparna Bhowmick

Retail Jeweller India Exclusive