It’s the Signet-owned banner’s first location in Georgia.
Squirrel Spotting: What Will Retail Look Like After COVID-19?
Consumers will return to physical stores, writes Peter Smith, and jewelers need to be ready for them.
![Peter Smith is president of Memoire and Hearts On Fire. He is author of two books, “Hiring Squirrels,” and “Sell Something.” Connect with Smith on LinkedIn or at dublinsmith@yahoo.com. peter-smith.jpg](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/a617e9bee9c3425a4bba799cc313701f.jpg)
“Everything will change after this.”
“It’ll be a new normal.”
You can’t avoid it. We’ve all become experts on snappy one-liners, devoid of context or the responsibility to justify our prognostications.
While we’ve never seen anything like COVID-19, if you are old enough, you’ve lived through 9/11 and the financial crisis. We heard similar prognostications during those dark days, predictions about how retail was going to fundamentally change thereafter, how nothing would ever be the same again.
Do you remember how 9/11 was going to result in a massive surge in marriages, as people sought to prioritize and, presumably, formalize connections with their loved ones?
It was a nice thought, and I’ve heard many references to how it happened in subsequent years. Problem is, it just isn’t true.
In the year prior to 9/11, 2000, there were 2.32 million marriages in the United States. The two years post-9/11 saw an average of 2.27 million marriages. The predictions didn’t materialize, but people still used the narrative afterward.
In the current crisis, I’m hearing about how we all have now been conditioned to shop online, a consequence of our isolation during the pandemic, and that our shopping habits hereafter will “never be the same.”
Apparently, we needed COVID-19 to learn that we can shop online and have things delivered to our homes. Who knew?
Here’s the problem with the online argument—it’s complete nonsense.
The idea that our evolutionary need to engage with other human beings, after 2 million years of genetic wiring, is going to suddenly accede to an isolation hangover from a few weeks or months at home is just not viable.
In “Reengineering Retail,” Doug Stephens wrote: “Shopping appeals to our deepest subconscious needs and goes deep within our psyche. We saw this profoundly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. While many economists predicted a significant drop in consumer activity, which would have been understandable given the scale and nature of the tragedy, the exact opposite happened.
“Consumers bought more, much more. It’s a phenomenon scientists call mortality salience—the reality of one’s own impermanence—and it drives an increased desire for goods and services that provide people with a sense of comfort and stability.”
Being stuck in my home for weeks has not fueled a desire to spend more time at home. It hasn’t served to steel me to my “new normal.”
I want to go out and eat in restaurants. I want to go to the movies. I want to get back to attending shows and concerts, and I want to shop and be around other people.
I’ve enjoyed staying connected with my co-workers on Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and I have no doubt that the trend toward remote working will accelerate now that many of us have experienced what it feels like firsthand.
But it is not going to replace the fundamental need human beings have to be around other human beings.
In a Bain report issued last week, “Luxury after COVID-19: Changed for (the) Good?,” it was reported that the Chinese market “already appears to be on its way to recovery.”
While we can’t necessarily equate what happens in one market to another, there was further encouragement in the report: “Almost every luxury brand in China had to temporarily close stores or reduce working hours, creating double-digit year-over-year sales declines; however, at luxury stores that have since reopened, consumers are returning faster than expected.”
A friend of mine in Hong Kong expressed real surprise that mainland China’s retail sales for March were very strong, on the order of about 70 percent of a normal March. She indicated that some important sales were happening as people look to “cheer themselves up.”
We like to believe that a crisis brings out the best in people, that it serves to imbue people with a sense of community spirit, a concern for their fellow citizens. The sentiment has a lovely feel to it but it is, at its core, absolute rubbish.
Crisis reveals who we already are, only more so. If you were an ass going into it, you’ll be an even bigger ass in the throes of a crisis. Just look at all the people fighting over rolls of toilet paper!
If you are inherently a decent person, it’s more than likely that your positive attributes will be on full display in the midst of a crisis and you will exhibit selfless behaviors and positive actions throughout.
Character in crisis is a good metaphor for retail jewelers.
If your business model was suspect before COVID-19, it’ll be even more so when we get to the other side of this, if you are still in business. Your shortcomings will be exacerbated and failure to reinvent your business immediately will likely hasten your decline.
If, on the other hand, your business model was healthy going into this crisis—and you manage to come out of this mess intact—you can double-down on your model and intensify your efforts to build on the aspects of your business that made you relevant in the first place.
So, what does that mean post-COVID-19? In retail, it is these five things.
Having Good Salespeople Will Be Paramount
For starters, we’ve witnessed a decline in foot traffic for years and that won’t change anytime soon. To that end, doing a better job of converting customer traffic into sales has never be more critical.
To improve your close ratio, you cannot afford to have salespeople who are not wired to sell.
Can you really afford to continue to miss sales in your well-intentioned, but otherwise self-defeating, effort to retain pleasant and/or tenured salespeople if they are not effective sales drivers?
Average Price Points Must Increase
Average retail tickets have increased over the past three years or so in the independent jewelry channel. That is good news, and it needs to continue for the math to work.
If you’re the guy looking to lower your average ticket in a world where you are selling fewer units, you are going to run into a phenomenon called the math doesn’t work.
This is not the time to embrace a cheaper-is-better strategy.
Generic Is Not a Compelling Story
One of the most misunderstood aspects of branding is the power of storytelling.
Carmine Gallo wrote in “The Storyteller’s Secret,” that “Facts and figures inform, but stories move people to action.”
Your differentiation comes not from how much you can afford to discount a generic product, but in how compelling your story and relevance is to prospective customers.
Value is what the consumer gets (how it makes them feel), not what they pay for it.
A narrative built disproportionally on being a “multi-generational business with great customer service” is not compelling or differentiated.
We’ve seen too many retailers close their doors for good after multiple generations in business and a real commitment to serving their communities. In and of itself, those attributes are not enough.
A finite number of stories presented really well will become more important than ever in a world where the customer does not want to work too hard to figure out what your store is about.
Online Must Be Part of Your Strategy
If you currently have an online presence, then present circumstances should have underscored the importance of being able to conduct some business even in a lockdown situation.
If you don’t have the ability to conduct meaningful business online, the lockdown should be the last reminder you need to get it done now.
Having a solid online presence is essential to driving customers and sales into your retail store.
It has been reported that as much as 85 percent of all brick-and-mortar sales start online. There is also the matter of actually being able to generate as much as 15 to 20 percent of future business digitally.
And So Must the Store Experience
This would be an awfully good time to rethink the physical layout of your store. Removing clutter and shifting things around in advance of a post-coronavirus world might be a very good use of your time.
There are a great many things you can do to reset your store, your team and your product offerings.
Making faster decisions as a business has never been more important, and taking calculated risks to break free of conventions that used to govern your actions will be more important than ever.
In “Remarkable Retail,” Steve Dennis wrote, “Beyond the as-yet-unwritten story of the ravages of this outbreak and the magnitude of its tragic human toll, the spread of the coronavirus seems certain to accelerate the collapse of the middle and push many other weak retailers (and the industries that serve them) over the edge.”
Don’t be the guy in the middle. Rekindle the fire and come out of this with a renewed passion and purpose.
I’m very positive about retail going forward and I hope you are too.
The Latest
![These “Double Loop” earrings feature a drop-cut amethyst sitting atop the lower hoop, totaling 1.60 carats between both earrings. The hoops are made of silver covered in “pistacchio” colored enamel, while 9-karat yellow gold holds the stones in place and connect the two hoops behind the earlobe ($1,770). Bea Bongiasca’s Double Loop Earrings](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/f338ef6b4603be3c97765f833b831ca0.jpg)
Commemorate “brat summer” with these green hoops.
![The skyline of downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Jewelers of America held one of its Multifacted Learning Workshops there on July 17 and National Jeweler Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff tagged along. Stock image of Providence, Rhode Island, skyline](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/4ec5b02d4cbaaaa2283bdcf6820950a4.jpg)
Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff returns from Rhode Island with thoughts about in-store shopping and a trends report.
![Untitled design.jpg](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/583fbcb2bb839782810080debef35d3c.jpg)
As the demand for lab-grown diamond jewelry may still be increasing, the most notable change we are likely to see is price stabilization.
Sponsored by Gemological Institute of America
![](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/99a46b30cc354962ac2e29ecd113587a.jpg)
![Earlier this month, online giant Amazon and the Better Business Bureau filed a joint federal lawsuit against ReviewServiceUSA.com for allegedly selling fake reviews, both positive and negative. Amazon package outside door](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/27fce4225a38900d54a5536ce523a22d.jpg)
They claim ReviewServiceUSA.com was selling both positive and negative reviews of products and businesses.
![A shot of the Venetia diamond mine in South Africa, owned by De Beers Group. The diamond miner and marketer saw revenue drop 21 percent and rough diamond sales decline 20 percent in a “weak” market for diamonds. De Beers’ Venetia diamond mine](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/a1f16ceaaba662e80385166060d192a7.jpg)
Lab-grown diamond sales in the United States and ongoing economic challenges in China are impacting natural diamond demand.
![1872 x 1052 Gemolite.jpg](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/9d60901b44425a53b9010301897a3bbc.jpg)
GIA®’s most advanced microscope has new features to optimize greater precision and comfort.
![A malachite and diamond bracelet from Pomellato’s “Pom Pom Dot” collection, launched earlier this year. Pomellato and Boucheron were bright spots for Kering in an otherwise underwhelming first half of the year. Pomellato Malachite Pom Pom Dot bracelet](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/3c237b62e009742fc52487097daf3c5a.jpg)
The gains come amid a tough time for parent company Kering, which saw sales slide 11 percent in the first half of the year.
![Volunteers and Shane Co.’s corporate team from all 22 locations of the family-owned jewelry chain have begun packing backpacks with school supplies for teachers to distribute to their students this school year. Shane Co. and the Kids in Need foundation logo](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/1c5abfb36ec775724f014f47bfbb47fc.jpg)
The fine jewelry retailer filled backpacks with back-to-school essentials for students in 13 states.
![A shot from the advertising campaign for LVMH-owned Bulgari’s “Eden the Garden of Wonders” high jewelry collection. LVMH’s jewelry and watch sales slipped in the first half of the fiscal year. Bulgari high jewelry campaign](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/c24eb75ca8cea44d2e9859648f4a98ee.jpg)
Tiffany & Co. is focusing on its “iconic” collections while the company has made changes at the top at TAG Heuer and Hublot.
![Chaumet, a Parisian jeweler owned by LVMH, has designed the Olympic and Paralympic Games medals. Chaumet Paris 2024 Olympics medals](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/7831b3a738baddfc7d783e6df0fbf796.jpg)
The Parisian brand is the first jewelry company in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to design the medals.
![The acquisition of Union Life & Casualty by Jewelers Mutual will help strengthen both the pawn market and the insurance industry, said JM. Jewelers Mutual and Union Life and Casualty logos](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/195925667226ecfc51b4e1bb09607143.jpg)
Union Life & Casualty will join JM Insurance Agency Partners, expanding the provider’s pawnbroker coverage.
![The winner of this year’s Lonia Tate scholarship, Bradlei Smith will receive the opportunity to earn her Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA and, following graduation, an internship at Ben Bridge Jeweler in Seattle. Bradlei Smith](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/996834935ae30a7a1195db8b9db6cb7d.jpg)
Los Angeles-based Bradlei Smith was selected for this year’s award.
![Peter Smith is an industry consultant, speaker, sales trainer, and author. He can be reached via email at TheRetailSmiths@gmail.com. National Jeweler columnist Peter Smith](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/bec7295a7f478778b1c196e6d81e7cd9.jpg)
In his latest column, Smith shares multiple reasons why people who look at the glass as being hall full often make better salespeople.
![De Beers Group mined 6.4 million carats of diamonds in the second quarter of 2024, down from 7.6 million in the same period last year. (©De Beers Group/Photo credit: Ben Perry @ Armoury Films) De Beers rough diamond display](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/80cd02b1c8384f4b2efda0bcdf6a75e1.jpg)
The company also reported the $150 million sale of an iron ore royalty right, part of its ongoing effort to divest “non-core” assets.
![L.A.-based flower designer, Sophia Moreno-Bunge models Guzema’s “Hidden Beauty” collection in front of a garden in Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, California. Sophia Moreno-Bunge of Isa Isa modeling Guzema’s Hidden Beauty collection](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/6f3822623eb7fd2f6468f82825194cb1.jpg)
The ad features three celebrity florists creating floral sculptures while wearing jewelry by Guzema.
![The Entrepreneurship Grants program supports winners with financial aid to scale their businesses and increase their societal impact, said Diamonds Do Good. Pictured here are three of the 13 winners, top right is Tresia Shituula, and bottom row left to right, are Monkgogi Moshaga and Mohamed Samu. Tresia Shituula, Monkgogi Moshaga, Mohamed Samu](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/a7c9b87301b76a9446f6522747ce5b95.jpg)
The grant provided a total of $100,000 to support 13 entrepreneurs from diamond communities in Africa and India.
![Ghazi Osta, better known as Gus, was the owner and president of Volusia Gold & Diamond, a store he and his wife, Leigh Osta, opened in 1986. He was shot and killed inside the store Friday afternoon after a brief argument with a regular customer. (Photo courtesy of Volusia Gold & Diamond Facebook page) Ghazi “Gus” Michel Osta](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/c8c1fa3df746cbd364915a98dcac9d21.jpg)
Ghazi Michel Osta, or “Gus,” was killed Friday by an 83-year-old man said to be a frequent customer at his store, Volusia Gold & Diamond.
![Elyssa Jenkins-Pérez (left) is the Responsible Jewellery Council’s new head of North American development, and Effie Marinos is its new specialist advisor for technical standards. Elyssa Jenkins-Perez and Effie Marinos](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/94332af0c7a776e7a8c36fabf76baa5f.jpg)
The organization also announced Effie Marinos as its new specialist advisor for technical standards, as well as four other appointments.
![Karen Rentmeesters, who joined the Antwerp World Diamond Centre in 2010, will take on the role of CEO. Karen Rentmeesters](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/3256fcc71cd43a399055c61f68486269.jpg)
Rentmeesters has served as interim CEO since April following former CEO Ari Epstein’s resignation.
![Longtime Washington, D.C., jeweler Brian Mann (right) with his wife Jessie Mann, an artist who custom-paints porcelain Limoges Boxes, at a 2016 Jewelers of America member event. Mann, the longtime co-owner of David Mann Jewelers, died June 21 at age 70. Brian and Jessie Mann](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/be4debc6e0b3198943a66ef0e2197c2c.jpg)
Mann, whose family’s jewelry store was located inside the Pentagon, is remembered for being a thoughtful champion of the industry.
![The 1916 Company recently opened a new Tudor boutique in Denver’s Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Tudor store in Denver](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/9f8600ea53ed731963331ebd28a10d16.jpg)
The 500-square-foot boutique is located in Denver’s Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
![This necklace from Messika’s “So Move Max” set is made of yellow gold with 19.18-carats of brilliant-cut diamonds and designed with circle motifs that move within the links (price upon request). Messika’s So Move Max Necklace](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/14c78af4a4e8c6b996a81bbb5a5bc69f.jpg)
Dance all night long with the “So Move Max” set’s necklace.
![On Sept. 1, Julien Tornare (left), current CEO of TAG Heuer, will become CEO of Hublot. Antoine Pin, now the general manager of Bulgari’s watch business, will take over Tornare’s role as CEO of TAG Heuer. (Images courtesy of LinkedIn) Julien Tornare and Antoine Pin](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/b24627b34ece895ddd254bae22751fb8.jpg)
Luxury giant LVMH is reshuffling the leadership in its watches division.
![A rendering of a billboard from Etsy’s new campaign. The campaign is designed to highlight the platform’s creators and how their products are made. Etsy billboard rendering in NYC](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/9a94f394f326b90dc1c9da6a711c5e09.jpg)
Sellers and shoppers have spoken out against a rise in mass-produced merchandise on the platform meant to highlight handmade goods.
![Ariana Grande said she cannot wait “to inspire others to embrace their own unique sparkle,” as Swarovski’s brand ambassador. (Photo credited to Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot for Swarovski) Ariana Grande Modeling in Swarovski Jewelry](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/adaa79dce0741a275427155078691611.jpg)
The celebrity will star in Swarovski’s holiday campaign.