I woke up in a panic this past Monday, convinced I had missed Mother’s Day the day before—leaving my 75-year-old mother gift-less and feeling unloved.

After downing a cup of coffee, I tried to unravel the origins of this particular anxiety and came up with this: Though the holiday is still three weeks away, the onslaught of Mother’s Day advertising has landed with fighter-jet force.

We’re bombarded daily with TV and online ads showing photogenic moms wearing beatific smiles while lovingly stroking their newly gifted necklace/pashmina/KitchenAid mixer/what-have-you. The upshot of all these ads is the coagulation of a feeling of urgency: I cannot—repeat cannot—drop the ball here. 

I know I’m not alone in feeling this (highly specific!) pressure. And as a jewelry retailer, you should be prepared to greet, and ultimately quell, that “I can’t blow this!” feeling many of your customers may be walking through the door with leading up to Mother’s Day.

How can you, as retailer, assuage your clients’ anxieties? I have a few suggestions.

Curate a corner
Mother’s Day jewelry shoppers often include first-time and infrequent fine jewelry shoppers—and this crowd needs your expertise. Create a curated corner or case filled with gift-ready jewelry such as charms, simple pendant necklaces, and bracelets. Don’t make your shoppers wade through a meadow of engagement rings to find that perfect something.

Show your tags
Even if you don’t typically display price tags in your cases, doing so on Mother’s Day will render the shopping experience more self-serve and therefore quicker for consumers looking to get in and out. Remember: Shoppers are used to getting price and other info on products instantly online. Reveal your numbers!

Offer a beverage
Coffee, tea, and bottled water are nice offerings for daytime shoppers, but spring for ice-old craft beer, prosecco, or rosé for evening shoppers in the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day. Offering a trendy cold beverage is a nice, welcoming gesture—and transmits the message that you actually want shoppers to relax, browse, and stay awhile.

Gift-wrap with panache
Everyone wants their mom to be pleased as punch on Mother’s Day—and presenting her with a gift box Scotch-taped closed (or even wrapped with a sad little bow) doesn’t do the job. Delight your shoppers and their moms by offering cool gift wrapping this season. You can dispense with the potpourri and cinnamon sticks, but make sure the bow, wrapping, box, or bag are jazzy and inspire some genuine oohs and aahs.

Photo via Pexels.com

Emili Vesilind

JCK Senior Editor