In-Store Education at Diamond Jewelry Retailers is a Key Driver of Customer Experience and Purchase Intent — Duplicate
We recently conducted a study across national, regional, and exclusive retailers to uncover how natural diamonds (NDs) and laboratory-grown diamonds (LGDs) are presented in retail settings. We analyzed how the store environment, merchandising, and interactions with the Sales Advisors contribute to the customer’s education, experience, and confidence to purchase.
Our findings show a strong correlation between feeling educated and having confidence in the purchase (93%). Although less than 50% of customers consider the merchandising setup adequate in delineating differences between laboratory-grown diamonds and natural diamonds, 78% feel more confident and educated post-store visit. These [diverging] numbers highlight the influence of the sales advisor’s role and the educational opportunity of the interaction.
Although most customers perceive overall messaging as clear and delivered in a positive or neutral tone, only half of customers perceived the definition of natural diamonds as clear. Furthermore, it is of concern that Sales Advisors show little proactivity in explaining differences between LGDs and NDs, use a comparative narrative, and show a lack of knowledge in using ethical, provenance, and traceability arguments. In fact, only in 6% of cases was knowledge shared on the ethical and provenance arguments of natural diamonds. As such, they effectively engage in an unbalanced narrative. This, however, presents a significant opportunity to better educate the customer comprehensively and transparently which in turn will augment confidence and purchase intent.
The study found that customers who felt educated about diamonds perceived their experience positively (93%) and were more confident in purchasing (93%). Despite this, only one-third of customers (35%) felt that the store layout differentiated natural diamonds (NDs) from laboratory-grown diamonds (LGDs). However, nearly half of the customers felt educated after their store visit and more confident about buying, highlighting the importance of Sales Advisors in educating customers, regardless of the store layout. The study also revealed that the lack of proactive education from Sales Advisors, which occurred in about 40% of interactions, represented a missed opportunity, ultimately impacting conversion.
The messaging about NDs and LGDs provided moderate clarity overall (51% for NDs and 57% for LGDs), and descriptions were mostly positive or neutral for both types of diamonds. Roughly only half of the customers felt that their Sales Advisors did not show any preference for either type of diamond.
The content of the Sales Advisors’ speech was factual for both NDs and LGDs, but it lacked information on ethical considerations as selling points for NDs (only 6%) and on provenance and traceability for both types of diamonds. This presents an opportunity for better Sales Advisor training to address these gaps in knowledge and improve customer experience.
To learn more about the findings of this study and gain insights on how store environment, merchandising, and interactions with Sales Advisors contribute to the customer’s education, experience, and confidence to purchase, download the full report now.
