Guide to Video E-Commerce for Jewellery Industry

The past year has been a breakthrough year for how the retail industry and the consumer have adopted e-commerce. Even industries like jewellery were forced to abandon their resistance to e-commerce and are rightly looking at digitisation as a necessary addition to the brick-and-mortar model.

At the other end of the spectrum, the target customer has also accepted and adapted to the new digital norm. As per the 2020 Gartner Consumer Behaviors and Attitudes Survey, 64% of consumers feel they are at risk of exposure in public places. It has therefore become imperative for brands and retailers to strengthen their online presence and support consumers’ self-protective instincts.

However, there are several trends that retailers need to consider before they reinvent themselves. Live video selling is one such trend that helps retailers stay relevant and find success online.

Trends in Online Jewellery Industry

Millennials, born between 1980 and early 2000s, account for over 50% of the population and the workforce. The rise of the millennial coupled with the advent of the smartphone have changed the rules of engaging with the customer. The pandemic has accelerated the shift to digitisation by almost a decade. Consumers are now more open to buying online, and more and more customers are making the switch to shopping online.

Taking advantage of new technologies is serving to increase online sales by helping customers find the perfect piece, without ever having to leave their home. Here are some of the latest trends that help increase sales.

1. Authenticity and Efficiency

The new age customer expects a website to emanate authenticity through clear messaging. They expect trustworthiness and efficiency to pervade all forms of messaging and interaction.

2. Show Rather than Tell

About 80% shoppers say that video demonstrations help in deciding to buy. When the demonstrations are done by sales staff, there is a display of authenticity that leads to a high probability of a sale. Video is one of the best ways to showcase jewellery.

3. Photorealistic Detail

A huge challenge for selling jewellery online is that customers would like to see high value jewellery items up close and get an idea of the workmanship and finer details. Providing photorealistic details of the jewellery pieces solves this problem to some extent and can help them shortlist.

4. Superior Customer Experience

A core part of providing a superior customer experience is understanding what the customer looks for while shopping online. Use tools like 3D models to help the customer visualize the product. Millennials are attracted to products that have a story and jewellery that showcases the local heritage holds special appeal. Present your full catalog of products in an interesting and fun way with the help of hotspots. Customers will be able to interact with your products and choose their favourite product and buy it.

5. Focus on Personalisation

An important part of an outstanding customer experience is providing useful and relevant personalised suggestions. This is best done by your sales staff on video calls rather than some impersonal bot. Seeing a friendly face answer any questions they have can help sell products much more easily than just static images.

Use live video selling tools to engage with customers one on one and increase conversions. Sales staff can walk them through your collection just like they would in a store. They don’t need to be tech savvy- all they need to know is how to take a video call.6. Home Trials

6. Home Trials

Home trials is a unique trend that replicates traditional selling augmented with an online presence. This brings the best of both worlds and is a popular trend for local sales. It also dispels the concern over quality and security.

How to Use Live Video for Selling Online

Over the past few years, video has become a powerful medium for influencing people across industries. Being an easy-to-consume medium, it has outpaced other forms of marketing with a much better return on investment of about 75% than static imagery. Live video selling is an even more powerful medium as it results in instant answers to customer doubts and concerns.

Here are four ways to use live video shopping to engage and connect with customers and increase sales at par with retail sales in normal times.

1. Where to Start

There are immense benefits of using video in e-commerce, however, it becomes difficult to implement because of the technicalities and the high costs of equipment. How does one go about it? Which products should the video be made for? Live video selling does away with these problems as the salesperson can show a live demonstration of the piece that the customer is interested in.

2. Reuse Recorded Video

Live video selling calls can also be recorded and reused for training purposes as well as marketing. They can be used to train sales staff and improve their expertise in dealing with customers in live video calls. The recorded sessions can be edited to respect customer privacy and can be posted as demo videos on the website. This would help in creating an inventory of product videos. Further down the road, they can even share frequently seen videos.

3. Connect One on One with Specialists

There are several factors that a consumer keeps in mind while shopping. What is your style? What is in vogue? Will it be a good value for money? It helps to have a specialist narrow down the choices. Live video selling can help customers connect one on one with specialists who can not only understand and resolve customer concerns but can also suggest suitable alternatives. Such conversations can truly immerse the customer and help in making a buying decision.

4. Design Webinars and Shop Parties

The pandemic has limited the avenues of entertainment for people and webinars have stepped in to fill this void. In the e-commerce world, these have taken the form of Design Webinars and Shop Parties. Using live video selling, leading designers and brands can host design webinars for several people. These webinars can give out style tips to choose the right jewellery, impart knowledge about the heritage of the piece or the stones used, discuss the latest trends and designs, and can help create the desire to buy. Shop parties are a fun way to shop with close friends and family where they can look at the different pieces of jewellery together and shortlist for buying or trying.

Conclusion

Live video selling is an innovative trend of video e-commerce that not only offers retailers and brands the benefits of video in e-commerce but also makes it quick and simple to implement. It is fast becoming a trendy way to connect and engage with customers and adapt to the online environment of selling and increase conversions that approach retail levels.