“The shut down for us started on March 20 and we re-opened on May 11, the day after Mother’s Day last year. During that time, we were completely closed down. But that didn’t mean we weren’t busy. We kept customers informed and engaged with initial store closure announcements and then postings that were more lighthearted with hopeful messaging. Staffers did some very fun and creative ‘miss our customers’ videos for our social media platforms which received a lot of likes, shares and comments. But the Facebook countdown to our re-opening was huge for us. Our store is pretty spacious so wearing masks and social distancing put a lot of customers at ease during the early days of returning to retail. About six months before the COVID closures, we started working on adding e-commerce to our website. Although people could buy from us through various methods before, the pandemic taught us the importance of upgrading and expanding the options for people to shop and interact with us. We launched a Shop-Pay-Get campaign which promoted the new and convenient methods of shopping, paying and getting jewelry from us. For example, we added Podium Payments which allowed our clients to pay using a secure link via text or email. When we re-opened, store traffic was more robust than we expected. People were ready to spend because they’d been missing out on so many family and personal events with jewelry. For the first quarter of 2021, we were up 52 percent in sales and January – April YTD, our sales are over double the same period last year (since we were closed part of March and all of April in 2020). A better comparison might be January – April of 2019 in which case we’re up almost 40 percent in sales which illustrates how well business is going for us.”
Holly Wesche, owner
Wesche Jewelers
Melbourne, FL
“We were closed with COVID lockdowns from roughly early March to Mid-May 2020. During that time there were a few of us working with customers, mainly through emails and cell phones, to review products in still images and videos. During the eight weeks of store closure we were taking payments via a text messaging service and delivering sold pieces to people in their driveways or even the atrium of the office building we’re in. We opened by appointment only in mid-May. That was going well, but in late May we had to close again for four days because of the riots happening in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs. In early June we were back to appointment only business mainly to regulate the number of people in the store. Much to our surprise the store appointments were filling up quickly. Our store and staff are blessed with a very loyal following. Business has been stable since last summer. At this stage there’s still cautious optimism, but we’re more optimistic than cautious with sales and customer interest definitely going in the right direction.”
Andrew Furman, manager
Continental Diamond
Minneapolis, MN
“Even with the federal, state and local mandates from mid-April to early May, we never really closed our doors. I simply turned off the ‘open’ sign. Similar to most jewelers during nationwide store closures we conducted business any way we could. Podium, a text-based option available through The Edge, was a lifesaver for us. We shared images and videos of products and conducted sales as best we could. Customers did stop by. Much to my surprise it was a lot of elderly people, mainly coming in for watch battery replacements. The most vulnerable segment of our population was helping us with small but frequent sales. I guess they needed to keep those Timex watches going. During the store closure we kept ourselves pretty busy. We re-painted the entire store, refinished the cabinets in the showroom, and converted an old work space into a nice break room for the store. Also, six months prior to the store closure we started an e-commerce website, so we updated product shots and product descriptions. In June last year, we held a 50% off sale. That helped get us back on track. And, with stimulus money, PPP loans and other government benefits, people wanted to celebrate with jewelry purchases. Diamond sales were up last summer and bridal diamond sales and sizes increased as well. During COVID, home renovations competed for jewelry dollars. But with travel down and businesses opening up, we’re enjoying the influx of business and sales.”
Doug Meadows, owner
David Douglas Diamonds & Jewelry
Marietta, GA
“We knew the store closure orders were coming in mid-March last year. Two weeks turned into two and a half months, but we kept our staff on payroll the entire time paying them ourselves and with the help of PPP. The industry came together at the time with online learning tools so our staff took courses from De Beers, AGS, GIA and industry webinars. Sales staff had to stay in touch with their customers and submit daily work reports. During the closure, customers were contacting us through any means necessary, be it Facebook messaging, texts, you name it. I went in once or twice a week with a staff member or two to handle special customer cases such as repairs and custom orders. In early May last year the governor’s lockdown orders were deemed unconstitutional, so we opened up just before Mother’s Day after super-cleaning the store and installing sanitation stations, portable Plexiglas shields and POS shields. In June 2020 we decided to do our Big Bling [diamond] event and haven’t looked back since. Last summer we had record months. So far this year each month has been record months. People aren’t travelling nearly as much and there’s pent-up demand. The key to COVID recovery is going after the business that’s out there.”
Jason Druxman, co-owner
Avenue Jewelers
Appleton, WI
