Imagine you’re visiting a world-famous theme park, for example, Walt Disney World in sunny Florida.
You're enjoying some well-deserved time away from your jewellery store. As you approach the entrance to the Magic Kingdom you are welcomed by an enticing mixture of sights, sounds, and smells.
These are all geared to improve your mood. At these tourist destinations, everything is designed to create and control the guest experience.
Each new location you enter is designed to engage your senses differently.
This is done so effectively that you likely don’t even notice the changes as you leave one location and enter the next.
Whether you realise it or not, companies such as Disney create and then control every move you make inside its parks.
The good news is you can do the same in your jewellery store!
It's important to break down the process into the five senses to learn how this sort of subconscious marketing can be applied to your business.
Sight: What do we see?
Your sales floor should be a visual wonderland. Everywhere customers look, they should be drawn to something intriguing and attention-grabbing.
Where you place fixtures creates a path for shoppers to follow as they peruse your sales floor.
In many stores, 50 per cent of a store’s floor is never seen by shoppers because the layout is left to chance.
Supermarkets don’t make this mistake, and that's why milk is always at the back of the store. The goal is to encourage consumers to walk past as many promotional goods - they didn’t realise they needed - on the way to collect the daily essentials.
Your sales floor should be set to lead shoppers somewhere deliberately.
To do this, make a schematic of your current layout and determine if your fixture placement is doing the job.
It's possible you may discover some control changes that need to be made.
Look for ‘desire paths’ – these are shortcuts customers make to get through your store faster.
Check your flooring for heavier wear in certain areas or spend a day watching how customers navigate the sales floor. If you find a desire path, place a display directly in the centre of it.
Furthermore, make your displays visually interesting. Add props, different textures, and signing to catch the customers’ eye.
Create a strong sight line by placing shorter fixtures up front and taller fixtures towards the rear of the store.
This allows shoppers to see both in and through your store, and gives them the chance to notice things they may have otherwise missed.
Lighting is critical to the customer experience. If you have customers aged 50-years and above - a likely probability for a jewellery store - there’s a strong chance they can’t see all the details of your fabulous products.
This is because people aged 60 and older only receive about 40 per cent of the available light compared to people in their 20s.
When was the last time you remodelled your store or had your illumination levels checked or assessed?
Track lighting is an easy fix for illuminating dark spaces, highlighting merchandise, or directing attention to certain areas of the floor.
Hearing: What do we hear?
Music plays a role in encouraging sales and every store needs a unique soundtrack that puts every shopper in the right mood.
We say soundtrack because the music you choose provides a background that entices shoppers to stay longer and spend more while they are there.
Music also adds to how you want your jewellery store to be perceived.
So, unless heavy metal is part of your schtick, Metallica cranked to 11 probably isn’t ideal for most stores!
Your soundtrack should give shoppers a psychological lift.
A recent study of more than 2,000 US adults, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Spotify, found that more than 70 per cent of respondents said they’re more likely to shop at stores that play music they enjoy.
Furthermore, 63 per cent are more likely to return to local stores that play music, while 67 per cent of respondents said background music incentivises them to make purchases.
Interestingly, the survey also found that the type of music also matters greatly for different demographics of consumers.
Women shoppers prefer oldies, pop, and R&B, while men prefer to shop while listening to rock and blues. Women and men both enjoy country and classical music while shopping.
Whatever music you choose to play, it’s your responsibility to ensure you are doing it legally.
In the second part of this series, we will address the next three senses – touch, smell, and taste.
We'll learn how they can be used within your jewellery store to create a memorable experience for your consumers, forging positive experiences and associations and generating sales along the way.
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