The gap
Photo courtesy UnicornJ
Zev Samuel, co-founder of UnicornJ, a Canadian brand specializing in Italian fine jewellery for children, believes parents are trying to teach their children to be unique and to look for accessories that add character and value to their wardrobes. However, with current offerings, this is easier said than done.
“There is a market for fine jewellery that is not cheap,” says Samuel. “There’s a void for tweens and young teens, with few options available for them in your average jewellery store.”
Bracelets are a great example of a product that can easily be purchased by young girls. A gold chain may be out of their budgets, but bracelets incorporating fun designs and creative materials such as pearls, ceramics, resins, and crystal are a good way to get products in display cases for this demographic.
Focus on the memories
Children’s jewellery is all about gift giving. One way a retailer can emphasize this segment of business is by getting to know customers and being there for their special occasions, such as baby showers, weddings, birthdays, births, religious celebrations, recitals, sports victories, graduation, and so on.
For example, if a child hasn’t been gifted jewellery but still likes to wear bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, the most common destinations to buy these items are at costume and toy stores. Why can’t they be found at a local jeweller?
One way of creating hype about children’s lines is by adding child-specific campaigns to a retail calendar. A retailer can run a children’s jewellery campaign alongside one for adults. Create awareness of products with an attractive display and use social media channels to share the news. Spring is a busy time for the bridal jewellery market—why not add a promotion for flower girls, too?
Offer personalization
Personalized jewellery can be a unique gift treasured for many years. Often, jewellers will recommend celebrating the birth of a child with a ‘one for Mommy and one for baby’ deal, making two sales in one.
Photo courtesy TOUS
To easily create a unique shopping experience, a retailer might:
- engrave a message, a name, or a date of birth;
- choose a birthstone colour;
- design jewellery with charms such as letters, symbols, stones, or crystals;
- offer modern lockets, which can be personalized by adding memories (such as feathers or stones) as well as the traditional photo; or
- provide unique packaging or illustrated cards.
As interviews with customers indicate, consumers are finding more value in the stories their jewellery tells, rather than the price. Of course, this trend is trickling down to future buyers, too.
One Torontonian mother says her daughter “likes all kinds of jewellery, but she enjoys things that are interesting and tell a story. I have a necklace with sand in a pendant and she loves that. She likes lockets with pictures inside.”
