The season of love is around the corner, and Valentine’s Day shoppers are eager to find the *perfect* gifts. But with a plethora of choices and shorter attention spans, directing them to the right items can be a challenge. Offering a captivating and seamless shopping experience becomes of great significance for brands that want to stand out and attract shoppers.
Historical data from the National Retail Federation shows that consumers consistently spend the most on jewelry ahead of Valentine’s Day, but spending has seen a -6% decrease last year. What can brands do to recapture the attention of jewelry shoppers? From personalized recommendations to immersive visual experiences, let’s unravel the strategies that will make Cupid’s arrow strike your customers’ hearts.
Whether it’s a last-minute surprise or something that’s been planned for months, shopping for exclusive items like jewelry online can be a challenge. In addition to the price point, jewelry is also a very personal gift and most often an emotionally-driven purchase, making selecting the right piece even more complicated, especially when it’s sometimes hard to describe just what you are looking for.
As a result, jewelry brands have to work extra hard to showcase the right products, nurture trust to encourage purchases, and create premium experiences worth coming back for. With that said, here are examples of 10 online shopping experiences that jewelry brands can implement to delight their customers and make the most of Valentine’s Day spending.
1. AI-generated titles and descriptions
Savvy brands are harnessing the power of AI to enthrall shoppers with compelling titles and descriptions. It can adeptly summarize, translate, predict, and efficiently generate text, providing detailed product descriptions, as with Amazon which is paving the way. These tailored descriptions are time-savers for shoppers who have to contend with an overload of information online. By presenting them with necessary product specifications, consumers can make confident purchasing decisions. The write ups are also far from monotonous and can be woven according to a theme, so they can resonate with customers who are feeling romantic and grateful.
2. Gift guides and style galleries
Shopping for jewelry is rarely an impulsive decision. Customers often conduct extensive research because they want to get it right—from the cut of the stone down to the fit of the band. Because of this, jewelry shopping can be an overwhelming journey for most consumers. Targeted on-site education funnels help shoppers understand what they want while establishing your brand as an expert in the industry and your website as a trusted source of information. This can be done with everything from a blog post about selecting the right gemstone to an interactive quiz. For H. Samuel, empowering shoppers with the knowledge to understand their options means having a gift guide for every purpose, whether you’re gifting for a partner or a best friend.
3. Visual navigation
In addition to giving shoppers a better understanding of the products you have in your catalog, visual navigation helps them find and recognize different designs, materials, and colors that they may not have been able to put into words. Chow Sang Sang, $2.6B Asian jewelry chain, takes it a step further with their option to personalize jewelry. On the site, shoppers can be acquainted with appropriate styles and cuts for rings and pendants depending on the occasion. These come with handy illustrations.
4. Integrated search
Going beyond traditional textual and visual search constraints, integrated search introduces a new era where shoppers can express their preferences, ask questions, and receive instant, context-aware responses. This dynamic conversation, reminiscent of the in-store experience, provides valuable assistance throughout the shopping journey. Astrid & Miyu implemented this on their online site in an attempt to replicate what customers love about the shopping experience in their physical locations.
5. Smart, flexible filtering
Shoppers have varying motivations and requirements when buying jewelry. Some are more driven by style, while others are limited by price. In any case, providing buyers the option to surface the most relevant and appropriate products for their individual intent is paramount to a frictionless jewelry shopping experience. Ernest Jones allows shoppers to discover comparable items to any piece that captures their interest. Shoppers can refine their search by filtering according to parameters such as price, similarity, and gender.
6. Intuitive product recommendations
Product recommendations are getting a level up, sometimes with AI. This entails predicting and generating personalized recommendations and experiences so that it feels like you have a responsive and adaptive shopping assistant. As customers interact with the system, real-time feedback refines the recommendation process to create a seamless and personalized journey. This intelligent approach ensures that the online shopping experience becomes smarter and more attuned to the evolving preferences of shoppers, such as in the case of Tiffany & Co. considering previous site interactions and real-time intent to make suggestions.
7. Virtual try-on through AI
One of the major pain points of online shopping is that customers can’t try on products to see if they’re a perfect fit. In recent years, we’ve seen brands come up with innovative solutions to address that. This time around, retailers are enlisting the help of AI for realistic visualization, so customers can envision how jewelry complements their style or that of their intended recipient before making a purchase. Beyond instilling confidence in their selection, this virtual try-on experience provides a convenient solution through their own device, saving them time and effort. Cartier offers this on their site—simply click on Try On for any of the products, and you’d be able to wear the products like you’re being attended to in real life.
8. Community and forum
Building an on-site community or forum enables your customers to interact with one another and discuss topics that matter to them. It also brings the conversation and engagement that might normally happen on social media to your site, where they can easily continue to purchase. Done right, it can boost engagement, offer shoppers inspiration, and even interact with fellow jewelry shoppers and share how much they’re enjoying their purchase. Missoma accomplishes this with regular articles under The Chain, and interviewing style icons that enjoy the brand’s creations.
9. Brand values and practices
Building a deeper connection with your brand involves giving customers insight into your behind-the-scenes operations. Take Bulgari, for instance, which offers a close-up view of its sustainability commitment and ethical practices on its website. As conscious consumers become more prevalent, emphasizing such details aids shoppers in recognizing that your brand values align with their own, ultimately enhancing brand affinity.
10. User-generated content
Putting your customers front and center provides social proof that encourages spending, but it also nurtures customer relationships post-purchase, increasing brand loyalty. James Allen does a great job of this with an on-site engagement gallery, connecting with past customers while inspiring new ones who may be shopping for the perfect ring and dreaming of their own upcoming engagement.
Elevating Valentine’s Gifts with Seamless Shopping
In eCommerce, the competition is fierce, and shoppers have only become more discerning about the brands they buy from. In a research-intensive, personal, and high-ticket vertical like jewelry, providing value throughout the shopping journey—beyond price and product—is the right approach for winning over shoppers in the long-term. The 10 online shopping experiences shared above are a great place to start, not just for standing out ahead of Valentine’s Day, but for developing a brand that resonates with today’s shoppers every day of the year.