As online shopping becomes more popular, jewellery retailers increasingly rely on their online performance. A significant factor affecting online performance is the useability and performance of a website. Therefore, choosing the correct platform to launch or re-platform an online jewellery shop is crucial as it can have a significant impact on conversions and revenue. In this blog, we will cover a jewellery retailer’s core needs and which e-commerce platform is ideal for meeting those needs.
Understanding the needs of jewellery retailers
Jewellery retailers work in a fast-paced industry where new collections are always launched. To stay ahead, any successful jewellery retailer needs an e-commerce platform which allows them to easily manage a large inventory with different product variations, such as metal type or gemstone type. They also need the platform to provide a personalised shopping experience that matches their brand image and clearly shows the products they sell through clear photos and videos.
Within the jewellery industry, there are peak seasons, such as Black Friday and Christmas. A platform needs to be able to handle this increase in traffic and sales without crashing. Jewellery retailers need a reliable and scalable platform that they can grow with.
What features make an ideal e-commerce platform for jewellery stores?
There are certain non-negotiable features a jewellery retailer needs their e-commerce platform to have to ensure peak performance. These features include:
User-Friendly Interface
A user-friendly interface is essential in jewellery e-commerce. Customers need to be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily, whether it’s a specific product or browsing by category or metal type. The shopping experience should be intuitive and engaging, offering a streamlined path from browsing to checkout. Jewellery websites with complicated navigation or unclear product categories can frustrate customers and lead to abandoned shopping carts.
Customisation Options
A jewellery retailer needs to be able to customise the look and feel of its website to match its aesthetic and brand image. A well-thought-out and well-designed website is crucial for enticing people to make purchases. Basic templates simply won’t do for brands that want to stand out in a crowded market.
Mobile Responsiveness
As more shoppers browse and purchase from their phones, a platform that is optimised for a smaller screen and runs seamlessly is a must. Images, product descriptions, and checkout processes should be optimised for smaller screens without compromising on visual quality or usability. If a website is not mobile-friendly, there will be an increased bounce rate as users click off the website to shop elsewhere.
SEO Tools
Standing out in search engine results can make or break a jewellery business. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a key driver of traffic for online jewellery retailers, and an e-commerce platform that offers built-in SEO tools is invaluable. From optimising URLs to generating sitemaps, these tools help ensure that jewellery retailers’ products are discoverable by customers who may not yet know their brand but are searching for products they offer.
Scalability and Flexibility
As new styles are created and inventories expand, a jewellery retailer needs to ensure their platform can grow with them to ensure they don’t get left behind. This includes handling the increased traffic and larger product catalogues that come with working in such a fast-paced industry.
E-commerce platform options
There are several e-commerce platforms available for jewellery retailers, each offering a different set of features and price points. Some of the most commonly used platforms include Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento.
- Magento – Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform that is highly flexible and scalable. Unlike Shopify or WooCommerce, Magento is built to handle businesses of all sizes and offers almost unlimited customisation options. Magento is the best platform choice for merchants turning over 10million+. While it may require more setup and technical expertise, Magento is an ideal choice for jewellery retailers that are planning to grow and want a platform that can grow with them from the get-go. Using a Magento website developer, such as Foundation Commerce, makes setting your website up simple and hassle-free.
- Shopify – Shopify is a popular choice for jewellery retailers looking to launch their online store quickly and with minimal technical knowledge. It’s user-friendly and comes with built-in templates that are easy to customise and perfect for start-ups. However, Shopify’s customisation options can be somewhat limited for jewellery brands looking to create a unique shopping experience, and transaction fees can accumulate over time, impacting profit margins.
- WooCommerce – WooCommerce is a great option for jewellery retailers who are already using WordPress as their content management system. However, WooCommerce requires separate hosting and additional plugins, which can increase costs and complexity.
Why Magento is the best choice for jewellery retailers
Magento is a popular e-commerce platform built on open-source technology, which makes it highly customisable. It provides online merchants, such as jewellery retailers, with a flexible shopping cart system, as well as control over the look and functionality of their online store. These features, as well as easy third-party integration, scalability, numerous extensions and plugins and SEO friendliness, make Magento a great e-commerce platform for high turnover jewellery retailers. Let’s delve more into these features:
Functionality
Magento’s functionality allows jewellery retailers to create personalised shopping experiences with features such as product filtering and customer segmentation. This means each customer can have a unique shopping journey that meets their specific needs.
Scalability
Magento can grow alongside your jewellery business, as it can handle increased traffic, product expansions and a growing customer base without compromising on performance. Magento can also support peak shopping seasons, product launches and sales events easily without crashing.
Easy third-party integration
Due to Magento’s open-source framework, jewellery retailers can seamlessly integrate their websites with third-party tools such as shipping providers and marketing platforms. This can help enhance the overall customer experience. Whether you need to integrate with ERP systems, social media channels, or analytics tools, Magento’s third-party compatibility simplifies the process.
SEO friendliness
Magento offers extensive SEO features which are ideal for jewellery retailers. These features include meta descriptions and tags and easy to upload blogs. Additionally, its mobile-friendly design and fast page load times contribute to better search rankings, which helps drive more traffic to your store.
Extensions and plugins
From marketing tools to customer loyalty programmes, Magento offers a wide range of extensions and plugins, perfect for jewellery retailers who want to fully customise their website. Magento also works in unison with a range of themes, such as Hyvä.
Drives loyalty and repeat purchasers
Magento offers a wide range of tools that can help a jewellery retailer drive customer loyalty and encourage repeat purchases. These features include personalised recommendations, wish lists and loyalty reward programmes. This also helps to build customer’s basket values.
Easily promote new collections and products
Magento makes it simple to highlight new collections and products, keeping your website exciting for returning customers. With customisable landing pages, banners, and product showcases, retailers can spotlight new arrivals, seasonal trends, or special promotions.
Creating a Magento website
Whether you’re looking to migrate from a different platform or create a brand-new website, at Foundation Commerce, we can support you with every step of your Magento website project. As a certified Adobe Solutions Partner, we have the knowledge and skill to deliver high-quality results for a wide range of Magento website briefs, and it doesn’t stop there. We also offer ongoing support and maintenance, so you never have to try to figure out a problem on your own. At Foundation Commerce, we live and breathe Magento, and we bring every ounce of that passion to your Magento project. We also have a high level of expertise in working with jewellery retailers, and have provided Magento website builds for jewellery brands such as Citizen Watch and Bulova Watch.
Ready to build your new website with Magento?
For jewellery retailers wanting to expand their online presence, Magento offers the perfect solution. It offers a wide range of benefits, such as scalability and customisation. So why wait? Get in touch with Foundation Commerce today and let us build a website perfect for your business.