#RJEF2023: How retailers gauge consumer behaviour and bring in innovation to strengthen the brand

From a parking area within a showroom, to curated evenings and fashion shows, to behind-the-scenes snippets of photoshoots, retailers talked about innovative methods they employed to engage customers in the showroom and even win back former clients  

Kolkata: A scintillating discussion on innovation at the Retail Jeweller East Forum – the concluding session of the day – delved into consumer behaviour in Kolkata, Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Agartala markets, and how retailers have engaged their clientele with out-of-the-box thinking. The session was moderated by marketing and brand consultant Premjit Sengupta and had Annargha Uuttiya Chowdhuury, Director, Anjali Jewellers, Kolkata, Arvind Soni, Director, Mahabir Danwar Jewellers, Kolkata, Nihar Tulsyan, Director, Tulsyan Jewellers, Ranchi and Shreyansh Kapoor, VP, Kashi Jewellers, Kanpur as participants.

Shreyansh Kapoor began the session by talking of Kashi Jewellers’ retail expansion in Kanpur from a 11,200 sq ft showroom to a 25,000 sq ft showroom, and how dedicating 4,000 sq ft of commercial space to a private in-suite parking has been the biggest and by far, most successful, gamble by the brand, ensuring customer security and anonymity. “A car enters the store and the customer gets off in the middle of the store. With this initiative, we got back customers whom we had lost in the last 15-20 years,” Kapoor said.

Nihar Tulsyan talked about his three-year-old customer engagement initiative titled ‘Koffee with Tulsyan’, in which the brand organizes an evening complete with a fashion show, photo-shoot and high tea for the customer. Customers love to deck up with the brand’s jewellery, Tulsyan said, adding that their organic social uploads and shares have in turn drawn the attention of their families to the brand.

Arvind Soni spoke of bringing the customer community of the brand together with the ‘MDJ Couple No. 1 Fashion Show’ held in 2022. “We had 800 couples participating in this show, out of whom 10 couples were selected as finalists. The couples got to know each other and the event had significant impact on sales,” Soni said.  

Talking about getting acquainted with the family business as early as when he was 12 years old, Annargha Uuttiya Chowdhuury said he had first-mover advantage in bringing Valentine Day promotions to East India. “Way back in 1999-2000, Anjali Jewellers was the first to sell gold lockets for Rs 999. Customers wanted to look like beautiful models, so we started sharing behind-the-scene snippets of photo and video shoots that entertained our customers and spread awareness,” he said. Anjali Jewellers’ foresight paid off, as partnerships with production houses and movies in the early 2000s earned the brand enough goodwill to easily collaborate with celebrity ambassadors, whom competitors often paid hefty sums for brand promotion.

The panel concluded that there is no hard and fast rule for retail jewellers to do one thing or another, but in order to attract customers whose preferences are evolving constantly, they need to think out of the box and bring in innovations to become trendsetters for the future.

Written by Ashwin Bose

Retail Jeweller India Exclusive