Halloween isn’t even here yet and I’m talking about Christmas shopping? You bet I am! By now advertising campaigns have been scheduled and produced and key product promotions have been set for a long time for some stores. Yet, there are lots of other stores that are still wondering just how they should be approaching our second consecutive year of this down economy. Many stores are just hoping to do as well as last year. What are your sales objectives for this selling season? Do you have accurate sales figures from last year by category, by day so you can track and compare this year’s sales to last year and get a quick read on any sales trends? Many jewelry stores have already adjusted inventory and prices to meet today’s more value oriented shoppers. It will be interesting to see how jewelry stores fare this year with less inventory selection to offer this year’s shoppers as compared to previous years.

Black Friday is a cultural event for many people. Schools are out and many people have a four day weekend. From a retailers perspective Black Friday has evolved to include a lot more browsing these days than buying as shoppers search for deals and ideas in stores and on the internet. What is your company planning to do to meet and greet all of these shoppers? + Better yet, what specific sales strategies do you have in place to encourage these shoppers to become buyers?
Here is some good news for jewelers. More people are predicted to shop earlier this year. Seven out of ten people plan to have most of their holiday shopping does by the first week in December. Be sure to have your direct marketing communications reach these folks early this year or you might miss their business completely.
A study by Accenture found over half of all people surveyed plan to shop on Black Friday. That’s up 20 percent over last year. Is this yet another sign of more value oriented consumers? Absolutely! Nearly nine out of ten people surveyed said they don’t plan to buy unless they get at discount of at least a 20 percent or more. Are you ready for this? One in four people surveyed reported they don’t buy without a 50 percent discount. Of course, this buying attitude applies to all products and not just jewelry. So you tell me . . . what percent of your customers now exhibit a more value-oriented approach to buying?
Four in ten shoppers are planning to shop later this year because they anticipate getting desperately discounted merchandise. Seems people remember some of those huge discounts retailers provided last year and they are counting on them again this year. Jewelers should remember that large department stores have the advertising budgets to influence buyer attitudes. Make sure your message is seen and understood too. Black Friday is a important element of holiday seasonal sales and requires some your best strategic marketing thinking.

JCK