How To Sell Jewelry Online Successfully: 5 Mistakes You MUST Avoid

by Lyn Chan
Posted: Nov 05, 2019

Last year, the global jewelry market size was valued at USD 278.5 billion and is anticipated to witness significant growth in coming years. The continued growth in this market can be attributed to:

1. Increased disposable income for consumers and innovative jewelry designs offered by brands

2. Changing lifestyle and perception of jewelry as a status symbol

3. Growing acceptance of jewelry among men

4. Women’s increased focus on the latest trends of necklaces, hairpins, and bangles etc.

29 million people purchase jewelry on a daily basis and jewelry has been known to yield profit margins of around 25 to 75% due to the perceived value of the jewelry.

So, selling jewelry online is big business and can be hugely lucrative. However, any jewelry business owners can tell you it’s not just rainbows and kisses.

For every jewelry ecommerce success stories, margarita-sipping, beach-living entrepreneurs, there are more money-broke owners with stale inventory, low profit margin, unhappy customers and other headaches in their day-to-day operations.

Kudos for you if you are a hustling entrepreneur working hard everyday in this business.

The good news is that the future is bright and profits can be huge. The caveat is to avoid the following pitfalls we compiled in this article. Having been in the ecommerce business for so many years, we’ve seen it all.

Keep reading and learn what mistakes you must avoid in order to succeed and how you can learn from these mistakes and grow your business.

Mistake #1 – Skip on Research

Market research should never be underestimated. Research shows that businesses whose owners conduct regular market research to understand their target market and identify consumer problems stay in business longer than those who don’t.

And those who understand their customers better than their competitors enjoy even more success.

As the ultimate entrepreneur for the ‘Information Age’, Seth Godin said " Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers. " What this means is that you have to know your customers like you know yourself.

No matter how confident you feel that your customers would love the latest fashion trend, you’ll want to spend some time evaluating market demand and gathering hard facts before you order 2,000 [Rainbow Jewelry] or [Headband].

How to Do Market Research for FREE?

There are two types of research methods: Primary market research and secondary research. Primary research is a kind of market research that can be carried yourself such as creating a survey for your potential customers to fill out.

Secondary market research is relying on information that’s already available from a variety of sources such as Google or annual industry reports. We will go over a few effective methods to get you started.

Simply Talk to Your Customers

There is absolutely no better way to understand your ideal customer than to ask (primary research) the people who will actually buy your product. Here is how:

Think of what to ask, it should include questions such as age, location, income, favorite fashion brands, favorite colors, where they shop, and where they typically buy jewelry. The more you can find out, the better.
Create a survey using Google Forms or TypeForm.
Start with your customer base, send the survey to your email list, and all of your brand’s social media platforms.
Then expand the survey reach to relevant online forums, Facebook Groups, Slack channels, even people in your direct network.
If you’d like to get the survey out to your existing audience, you can pay for a service like Google Surveys.

A pro tip is to give your customers a 5% coupon in return for the favor, it’s really a win-win situation for both of you.

Google Trends

Google Trends is a fun and user-friendly tool that displays a variety of data related to any search query you enter. As you can see below, tassel earrings have emerged about 4 or 5 years ago and has shown steady demand and might be on a slight decline.

Marketer’s Almanac

The Marketer’s Almanac can inform what you sell, when you post on social media, when you start marketing for each major holiday, and more.

Reddit

Providing far more in-depth commentary on your industry than other social media accounts, Reddit is where you’ll go to get a pulse on what your audience is talking about.

Facebook Groups

From a market research standpoint, Facebook groups serve a similar function as Reddit groups: they show you what people are talking about.

Now, you should have a better understanding about your customers and what they like and the hardest part is done. This information is important as a guiding post for your business that can directly impact all of your business decisions.

For example, finding out which age group is the mass of your customer base helps you price your items better to fit their purchasing power.

Finding out about where they like to hang out and what sites they’d like to shop on dictates which marketplaces you should sell from and which social media platforms you should promote on.

Finding out what trend they are following helps you order new inventory. Take your sweet time with finding your true north, it will point to the direction of your success.

Mistake #2 Not narrowing down your Niche

An ecommerce niche is a distinct segment within any given market and often an area that is overlooked by other businesses.

Why should I narrow down to a specific niche? Why can’t I sell all types, price-ranges, styles of jewelry. I wanna sell both a statement necklace, fine dainty necklace, and cute cartoon necklace, why can’t I? You could, but, here are the reasons we strongly suggest that you don’t.

The Power of Specializing

Suppose your father or husband has heart palpitations all of a sudden with sweaty hands. Would you want to send him to your family doctor or general practitioner? No, you’d want the best cardiologist in town to check on them. Same thing goes with your business.

Selling everything dilutes your brand and authority in your target market. Your customers won’t see you as the specialist who knows and sells for example, the best dainty fine jewelry or vintage jewelry.

Better for Your SEO

If you focus your website on a particular niche and continue improving and revolve around those niches, Google will think you are an expert in that area and in turn reward you with higher rankings for that particular search query.

So, you can rank closer to #1 spot for search terms like "best bohemian necklace" or " top quality skull ring ".

Stand out from Competition

There are approximately more than 3 million ecommerce companies around the world. According to Similarweb, Amazon.com gets around 2 billion visits a month and eBay gets about 1 billion visits a month. These two sites dominate the ecommerce landscape in many countries around the world.

What can you do that won’t get lost amidst the big players and the smaller players that have been around for years? The answer is enter the niche market. Set yourself apart from the competition by narrowing your focus.

Make Marketing Easy

Take facebook ads for example. The more target audience you specify, the better is your conversion rate and the lower your ad costs.

It is more powerful to hit a target with a precision laser beam than a shotgun blast! Find your winner laser beam by narrowing down to a specific jewelry niche and build your unique brand and audience.

Mistake #3 Don’t Establish A Trusted Supplier?

When running a business, the first goal is to get customers and satisfy them because, as they say, "Customer is King". However, an important relationship that commonly gets ignored is with your suppliers. Weaknesses in your supplier chain can be expensive and even critical for you.

Trust is needed to get through tougher times and having trusted suppliers and partners at your sides will be the best assets you can have.

How to choose a wholesale supplier? What other services can your suppliers provide in order to help you succeed?

It’s more efficient and saves money to keep a supplier, than to look for a new one, so get it right the first time. Check out this post for tips on how to find a trusted supplier and things you should consider when choosing a supplier.

Mistake #4 You Haven’t Mastered Your Product Listing

One e-commerce study found that 20% of purchase failures are potentially a result of missing or unclear product information. A catalog that contains pictures and good description instantly draws customer attention. I get it, you have 100 items you are trying to sell it’s a lot to manage.

However this is what moves the needles in your business in terms of sales. Employ the following tactics to ensure your products are well presented so customers can’t wait to get their hands on them.

Upload More Images or a Video

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then 9 images are worth 9 thousand words. Amazon allows for up to 9 images per product listing.

So, you want to make sure you take full advantage of the image count allowance and upload the maximum number of images allowed. Usually you should have a front, back, sides, close-up shots and highlight special features.

Include Lifestyle Photos

All products make a promise to the buyer: to change their life for the better. Product photos sell a customer on a piece by helping them visualize it in context. Lifestyle photography tells a potential customer a story about the product.

These kinds of lifestyle images help customers to picture their lives with the product. According to AmeriCommerce, people remember 80% of what they see, but only 20% of what they read.

So show them how a necklace wears on the model and make them more stylish, it might be enough to convince them they want it.

Improve Product Description

A well-defined product description increases the sales value by several notches. Tips for writing great product description.

Focus on benefits not features – A product feature is a factual statement about the product that provides technical information. A product benefit, on the other hand, tells how the product can improve the buyer’s life.
Use natural language – If you read your description aloud, does it sound like a real conversation that you would have with a girlfriend? Or does it sound like a computer-generated string of keywords?
User trigger words that sell – There are certain words and phrases that naturally elicit an emotional response in humans – trigger words. Make sure you include them in your copy as you see fit.

Mistake #5 Cheap out on Packaging

Jewelry has been known to yield profit margins of around 25 to 75%, much of which has to do with the perceived value of the jewelry.

And this is one of the main reasons jewelry is such a great niche to get into. It’s not like the electronics segment where everyone knows exactly what a certain model of laptop should be selling for. A consumer has no way to determine the exact price tag on a necklace.

You’ve taken a lot of effort in finding a profitable jewelry niche, researching what your customers like and dislike, and the time to find and vet a supplier, then you cheap out on your packaging because you think you’ve already made the sale online, why spend more money on the packaging where I can put that money in my pocket? Investing in beautiful packaging has enormous ROI.

Increase Perceived Value of Your Jewelry

Research shows...If a customer values your brand more highly they are likely to repurchase, purchase for others as gifts, recommend your brand to others and support your brands on social media.

The benefit of a simple gesture such as improving your packaging has a snowball effect that can grow your business long term.

Build Trust and Loyalty

Building trust and loyalty with your customers is the hardest thing to do when it comes to running a business. Better packaging shows your customer your attention to detail and in turn makes them feel trust.

Build Branding

Think of Tiffany & Co. For most people, the iconic robin’s-egg blue box is more recognizable than the jewelry itself. Packaging is powerful because it tells consumers why your product and brand are different.

Apple is known for its clean, minimalist packaging. Start with a packaging that will help your customers remember you.

How to Improve Product Packaging?

Secure the jewelry piece(s) nicely in a box
Include a card with more info such as care instructions and social media links
Showcase your logo, this will help you build a stronger branding

In the culinary world, there’s a saying that people eat with their eyes. And people do judge a book by its cover. Ready to put some creativity to use and improve your product packaging?

What’s next?

There are countless opportunities to earn a good profit with selling jewelry online. But, you have to research the market, your customers and what they like and dislike to narrow down your niche.

After that, finding a trusted supplier who can work with your needs is a crucial step to your success. Once you are ready to start selling, provide the customers with well-written descriptions and images that can help convert.

Last, but not least, exceed the customer’s expectations by a beautiful packaging and personal touch whenever you can.

Help our community by commenting below with what has helped you grow your successful ecommerce business.